Gun owners in California are buying ammunition en masse as they prepare for a new ammo background check law that is set to go into effect on July 1. Beginning next month, every time a person in the state purchases ammo, he or she must undergo a background check.
The new law was passed back in 2016 when California voters passed Prop. 63, the gun control law then-Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) championed.
“From San Bernardino to Ventura to Poway, too many Californians have already died from gun violence,” now-Gov. Newsom said last week. “I championed Prop. 63 because it is beyond time that we take common sense actions such as these to keep deadly ammo out of the wrong hands and protect our communities.”
Proponents of the law say it will weed out prohibited possessors because it forces people to purchase their ammo face-to-face instead of online.
What it’s really doing? Jacking up the price of ammo so law-abiding gun owners can’t afford to carry.
A $14 box of 50 rounds of .9mm will now cost $34 ($1 for the background check, $19 for the basic ammunition eligibility check if they aren’t in the Dealer Record of Sale system). That means that the price per round jumps from .35 to .68. That’s just about doublethe current price. And that’s just what they’re proposing fee wise. It hasn’t been finalized yet. Most Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) generally charge $25-$30 every time they run a background check and we have no idea if they’ll have to tack on that fee. Remember, they have to be paid for their time as well.
