Ammo controls violate our rights

The Anti-gun nuts are at it again both nationally and locally.

By hook or by crook, they are determined to restrict or to do away with gun ownership as guaranteed in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution.

During U.S. Representative Wally Herger's most recent conference call town hall meeting, a caller told of just such a law being proposed at the federal level.

Of more immediate interest to Californians, however, is SB 962, which is scheduled to go to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Oct. 11.

Authored by California Assemblyman Kevin de Leon of the 45th Assembly District near Los Angeles, SB 962 would ban mail order or internet shipments of ammunition to Californians, and would require ammunition be picked up only from licensed handgun ammunition dealers. A photo ID and thumbprint would be required to purchase ammunition.

Records would be kept and restrictions enforced with severe penalties for dealers or anyone not complying with all the restrictions. This would cause many dealers to pull back from handling handgun ammunition.

This law covers all ammunition that can be used in a pistol or handgun including any that can also be used in a rifle. Thus it would include .22s, everyone's favorite plinking, target and varmint gun.

The law is well intentioned, but will result in real inconvenience to purchasers and probably mean prices will rise, further hampering access that honest citizens have to ammunition and thus infringe further on the rights of gun owners.

It would do little to deter the sale of handgun ammunition to gangs, felons and other outlaws.

If those miscreants have trouble getting ammunition from dealers legally, they would have no qualms about breaking laws to get ammunition by stealing, black market or any other illegal source. It will be the honest citizen who will suffer the loss.

We need to tell Gov. Schwarzenegger to veto SB 962 when it reaches his desk.