National Bans on Online Ammo Sales, Magazines Introduced in House

Democrats in the House have proposed a number of gun control measures since the Oct. 1 shooting in Las Vegas, and one of them would ban online ammunition sales and another would ban magazines with a capacity greater than 10 rounds—nationwide.

According to this story from guns.com, HR 3962 would ban online ammo sales, HR 4025 would require gun dealers to report the sale of two or more rifles to the same person in a five-day period to the ATF, and HR 4052 would ban any magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.

"Several of my colleagues and I have introduced commonsense legislation that, if enacted, would reduce gun violence and the tragic impact it has on our communities," said U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, the New Jersey Democrat sponsoring the Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act.

What, if anything, online ammunition sales have to do with the Las Vegas shooting was not made clear.

But it goes deeper than that, mirroring parts of a law passed in California last year. Coleman’s proposal would require federally licensed ammunition dealers to directly confirm the identity of customers buying ammunition over the Internet by verifying a photo ID in person.

Also, the measure would require the vendor to report any individual sales of more than 1,000 rounds in a five-day period to the U.S. Attorney General—which would be a serious burden for competitive shooters, duck hunters, and any other high-volume shooter.

Garnering 29 co-sponsors, all Democrat, the measure has been referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary, the story says.

Rehashing a decades-old talking point, Rep. Elizabeth Etsy said in support of her magazine ban:

“There is simply no good reason why sportsmen and women need more than 10 rounds in a magazine. No sportsman or woman needs 30 rounds to kill a deer. It’s shameful that we protect our deer better than we protect our people.”

The bills join measures already introduced that would ban bump stocks and any other devices that can “accelerate a gun’s rate of fire,” which may also ban aftermarket triggers, mandates for smart gun use (technology that doesn’t yet exist), expanded background check proposals, and efforts for increases in federal funding for gun crime research.

There has been no mention of additional resources for law enforcement or the ATF to enforce the many gun laws already on the books, nor any mention of reforming the national background check system (NICS) that’s already in place.

You can read the text of the online ammunition-sale ban here.

Read the bill that requires the reporting of two rifles purchased in a five-day period here.

And you can read the magazine ban bill here.