Democrats remain both consistent and transparent on their agenda to disarm Americans, even under a Republican-controlled Congress, as evidenced by a recently introduced measure to ban online sales of ammunition. And New Jersey representatives continue to be the tip of the spear on disarmament.
On January 20, a U.S. House of Representatives Democrat representing New Jersey, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D, NJ-12), reintroduced H.R.7166, a bill that requires face-to-face purchases of ammunition, licensing of ammunition dealers, and reporting regarding bulk purchases of ammunition.
The bill would also require ammunition vendors to report any sales of more than 1,000 rounds within five consecutive days to the U.S. Attorney General if the person purchasing ammunition is not a licensed dealer. Currently, there are no prohibitions on online ammunition sales in New Jersey, although there are significant statutes controlling in-person purchases, point-of-sale fees, and database reporting requirements, as we’ve documented.
Every year tens of millions of law-abiding Americans purchase ammunition online for lawful purposes. Yet in her press release, Rep. Watson Coleman attempts to tie sales of ammunition online to mass shootings without providing any evidence:
Regulating online ammunition sales is a commonsense step to countering the number of mass shootings we see every year. This legislation closes the loophole that makes tragedies like these so unfortunately common. Public safety must come before convenience for an unregulated market: Americans send us to Washington because it is our job to protect them, not mourn them.
The bill, which has 22 Democrat co-sponsors from states like California, Illinois, and Massachusetts, has been referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
The editorial staff of this publication reached out to the office of the U.S. Attorney General for comment on the constitutionality of such a measure, but has not received a response as of the time of this publishing.
