NRA Gears up for Major Clash With California Over State's Bid to Control Ammunition
The National Rifle Association is getting ready to file a lawsuit that will take aim at the state of California’s attempt to control the sale of firearm ammunition.
As of Jan. 1, 2018, California no longer allows its citizens to purchase ammunition from out-of-state. Instead, ammo must be bought from licensed dealers within California.
If residents want to buy ammo online, they must have it sent to a licensed in-state dealer, who charges a processing fee.
As noted by Breitbart News, this “shrinks the supply, which will inevitably drive up” ammo prices.
At the start of 2019, another regulation will be imposed on gun owners in the state, as people looking to purchase ammunition will be subject to background checks at the point of sale, for which they will have to pay an additional fee.
The NRA, however, is fighting back.
The Second Amendment advocacy group is specifically targeting California’s failure to meet certain required deadlines in implementing these new controls on ammunition purchases.
“The Office of Administrative Law (OAL) has approved the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) proposed ammunition vendor regulations after failing to meet the statutorily mandated deadline of July 1, 2017 and the effective date of January 1, 2018,” according to the NRA.
California is widely known as a state with some of the strictest gun control laws in the U.S.
Before they buy a gun in the first place, residents must get a firearm safety certificate from the state and go through a 10-day waiting period, in addition to standing by for the results of a universal background check.
Moreover, as reported by Breitbart, “There is an ‘assault weapons’ ban, a ban on campus carry, and a new law against K-12 teachers being armed to shoot back if under attack at school,” among other measures.
But recently, the NRA has been able to successfully fight some of California’s regulations on gun ownership.
In June 2017, a U.S. District Court blocked a ban on so-called “high-capacity” magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, after residents backed by the California Rifle & Pistol Association — which is associated with the NRA — filed a complaint.
At the time, Judge Roger Benitez said that if the ban was implemented, “law-abiding citizens” in the state might potentially be treated like criminals.
“If this injunction does not issue, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of otherwise law-abiding citizens will have an untenable choice: become an outlaw or dispossess one’s self of lawfully acquired property,” Benitez wrote in his ruling, according to Reuters.
The ruling was praised by the California Rifle & Pistol Association.
“Law abiding gun owners have a right to choose to have these magazines to help them defend themselves and their families,” said attorney Chuck Michel.
But California Attorney General Xavier Becerra warned against the dangers of high-capacity magazines.
“Restricting large-capacity magazines and preventing them from ending up in the wrong hands is critical for the well-being of our communities,” Becerra said in a statement after Benitez released his ruling.
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