Calif. Bill Limiting Ammunition Sales Passes In Assembly Committee

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - A bill to make it harder to buy ammunition in California passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee Tuesday.

The bill requires anyone selling or transferring ammunition to have a buyer's identification. The sale would also have to be reported to the Department of Justice and all dealers would have to be licensed.

Opponents say AB 48 goes too far. But the author, Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner (D-Berkley), who introduced the bill, says it puts important safeguards onto the sale of bullets.

"Bullets are what make a gun deadly," said Skinner.

She is on a mission to tighten restrictions on not only guns in California but ammunition as well.

"It is easier to buy a bullet than it is to buy Sudafed, cigarettes or alcohol," she said. "If you're a prohibited person that shouldn't buy a gun, you shouldn't be buying bullets. So this gives us that information right away and if you are buying bullets and you're not supposed to, local law enforcement can step in. That's what my bill does."

However, not everyone is as sure the bill will do that.

"These are silly laws that will not accomplish one iota of crime control," said Sam Paredes.

Paredes is the executive director of Gun Owners of California. The pro-gun organization believes bills such as Skinner's are a backdoor attempt to assault the Second Amendment.

"The bottom line is we've got all kinds of gun control measures being sponsored in the legislature today that will have no impact on crime, will only affect law abiding citizens that will make practices legal right now illegal," he said. "This is a bill in search of a problem that doesn't exist."

The panel approved the bill five to two with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed. The full Assembly and the Senate must still approve the bill.