Interesting and truthful article from one of the few smart reporters on the Left Coast, should anyone think California (soon to become America’s first FAILED state) is an island:
With the passage of AB 962, anybody purchasing handgun ammunition in California will have to register with the state starting on February 1, 2011. What this means to gun owners in California, and the rest of America, will have repercussions for years to come.
California consumers will have to provide their name, address, date of birth, and right thumbprint to the seller in order to complete the transaction. The seller must maintain these records for at least five years and make them available to inspection for any law enforcement official conducting an investigation where ammunition records may be relevant.
All transactions must be conducted in person, so mail order sales will be banned.
According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), California consumers buy about 1.2 billion rounds of ammunition annually, about 12% of the total U.S. market. While some of this is rifle ammunition, there’s some vagary in the new law which may result in rifle ammunition purchasers being included under the new law:
Where ammunition or reloaded ammunition may be used in both a rifle and a handgun, it may be sold to a person who is at least 18 years of age, but less than 21 years of age, if the vendor reasonably believes that the ammunition is being acquired for use in a rifle and not a handgun.
This reasonability test creates a gray area, and considering California’s anti-rights history, any doubts will likely side towards the seller requiring your personal information. For example, people with .22 rifles may have to register, because of all the .22 target pistols that fire the same rounds.
Bottom line: If rifle owners believe they have somehow escaped unscathed, they are only fooling themselves. Also, there is nothing stopping the legislature from revising this law to include all ammunition in the future.
Impact on ammunition availability
Cabela’s is already on record that they will discontinue California ammunition sales when AB 962 goes live. Between high demand, and the hassles created by the new law, Cabela’s has no motive to continue selling there. This drop in supply will raise prices for California consumers, but supply redistribution will benefit ammunition buyers elsewhere, possibly resulting in price decreases.
The NSSF predicts that California ammunition costs will “dramatically increase” under the new law, but they see no negative impact on prices elsewhere.
AB 962 may also result in ammunition inventory issues nationwide through next June. The NSSF says that ammunition manufacturers are already working at full capacity. As far as manufacturer’s deciding whether the last year’s increased demand is an aberration or trend, NSSF says “the jury is still out.” This means that there are no planned increases in production in the foreseeable future.
Vendors concerned about AB 962
Cheaper Than Dirt fulfills the needs of shooters and outdoorsmen via their extensive hard-copy catalogues, online and phone sales, and online community. Currently, California accounts for 8% of their ammunition sales. They are experiencing persistent supply shortages in many handgun ammunition calibers: .380, 9mm, .32, .38, and .45 are all in “very short supply.”
Cheaper Than Dirt has not yet seen a demand spike in California, but says that since the residents of California have until February 2011 before the new law takes effect, they anticipate increased demand beginning around November 2010, when the reality of the law sets in.
After that, Cheaper Than Dirt “will no longer sell ammunition to residents of the state of California.”
Lucky Gunner, a mail order ammunition retailer based in Knoxville, Tennessee, says there continues to be a nationwide shortage, especially in certain handgun calibers: .380 and .45 ACP sell out immediately; 9 mm Luger moves just as fast, but remains in stock because it’s the most popular caliber, so more is manufactured.
Lately, Lucky Gunner has seen a sales spike in California, which usually comprises 10-15% of their total volume. They expect ammunition sales there to remain high until AB 962 goes into effect. They are researching a possible workaround, which would involve shipping ammunition to a store with a Federal Firearms License, who will then perform the final sale to the buyer. In this case, the additional costs incurred by Lucky Gunner and the FFL will be passed along to the consumer.
Lucky Gunner expects a “definite impact” in long run: California sales are expected to drop after February 2011.
As with Cabela’s and Cheaper Than Dirt, this may be good news for consumers in other states, because if demand levels off, other states will consume any additional inventory created by a drop in California sales. In this case, online ammunition vendors will experience no negative impact, meaning that they will not be driven out of business.
Bottom line: The California market is still huge. If consumers there increase their high-volume purchasing, prevalent nationally since last year’s election season, this will reduce availability and drive up prices for everybody. Also, fear of this happening may start a new rash of buying in hopes of stocking up before the new California Brass Rush.
This would, in effect, accomplish one of the aims of anti-rights politicians: By making ammunition too costly for more gun owners, they render more firearms non-functional, which is the long-term goal of gun control advocates.
Legal fallout
California is often considered a test ground for state gun laws: If it passes in California, a law gains a certain amount of validity by its very existence. In legal terms, this is called precedence, which the Legal Dictionary defines as “established doctrine, legal doctrine.” By becoming established doctrine on one state, a law becomes a credible reference point for those seeking to enact the law in another state.
Bottom line: Watch for ammunition registration schemes being proposed in your legislature.
Call to action
California’s new ammunition registration is not simply one state’s issue. It will have harmful consequences for years to come for all of us:
· Any price increases caused by AB 962 create an effective functional gun ban by pricing ammunition out of the reach of poor and middle class families, who must choose between feeding their children and protecting them from predators.
· Resources used to advance our civil right of self-defense will be drawn off to counter proposals for this new “sensible” gun law in other states.
· Mail order ammunition vendors may be at risk of losing enough sales to force them out of business, or force them to raise prices to remain profitable, negatively impacting all of us.
· Ammunition prices, just starting to level off and drop, may be hit with a new wave of fear-based buying, driving prices to new highs.
· This money, in turn, will not be available as contributions to pro-rights organizations in our continuing fight to restore the Second Amendment.
AB 962 was a major victory for the anti-rights crowd, whose goal is to leave you defenseless against violent predators. Anybody still sitting on the sidelines is effectively sitting on their head.
