Democrats introduce bill to limit ammo sales on the internet, ban large-capacity gun magazines

Sen. Frank Lautenberg calls for a ban on high-capacity
ammunition magazines and for a dialogue on measures
to prevent gun violence at a July 24 press conference. In the wake of the killing of 12 and wounding of 58 in Aurora, Colorado, a handful of elected Democrats have spoken in favor of new gun-control legislation. Or rather renewing old gun-control legislation. There seems to be zero chance any such legislation will pass in 2012. Even the majority of Democrats who would normally vote in favor of stricter gun laws haven't rushed forward to introduce or support any.

'Democrats are thinking: Why are we going to take the political pain when it's going to be very difficult to get through the House and partially in the Senate?' said Joshua Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence in Washington.

Nonetheless, Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy of New York introduced one proposal Monday: regulation of internet sales of ammunition:

The measure would require ammunition sellers to be licensed, maintain records of sales and report the sale of more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition. Buyers would be required to present photo IDs, a requirement that the bill's sponsors say would effectively ban the online or mail-order purchase of ammunition by civilians.

Sales of firearms and ammunition through the mail were regulated by the 1968 Gun Control Act. But in 1986, the ammunition part of the act was effectively repealed by the Firearm Owners' Protection Act and internet-facilitated sales of ammunition have burgeoned.

Both McCarthy and Lautenberg have long been among strongest advocates of stricter gun-control laws. McCarthy's husband was murdered in the Long Island Rail Road massacre in 1993 when a gunman opened fire on a commuter train, killing six and wounding 19, including McCarthy's son.

President Barack Obama has suggested that a ban on civilian, semi-automatic versions of fully automatic military assault rifles would be a good idea. But he's not planning to push for any new laws.

Still there are two pieces of legislation in the Senate and one in the House with the same wording that would ban high-capacity magazines or other firearm feeding devices that hold more than 10 bullets. The proposal was first introduced in 2011 by Lautenberg and McCarthy as an amendment to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. It's called the Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act. Last week, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York added Lautenberg's Senate proposal as an amendment to the Cybersecurity Act, known as CISPA.

James Holmes, the man arrested in the Aurora massacre, acquired more than 6,000 rounds of rifle, pistol and shotgun ammunition on line. He loaded his semi-automatic rifle with a drum magazine containing 100 rounds. Police report that when he used it against theater patrons in Aurora, the device jammed before 30 rounds had been fired. Holmes then switched to a pistol with a 15-round magazine.

In another massacre in Arizona last year, six people were killed and 13 wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, by a shooter whose extended pistol magazine held 33 rounds. Other rampage killers, however, have murdered their victims with guns containing magazines that the Lautenberg-McCarthy legislation would allow.

Their amendment is meant to ban possession or transfer of high-capacity magazines. Just one catch. If it were to pass, it would not eliminate high-capacity magazines. Like the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban, which prohibited high-capacity magazines and the sale or manufacture of 19 civilian versions of military rifles, Lautenberg's proposal has a grandfather clause. The ban:

'shall not apply to the possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device otherwise lawfully possessed within the United States on or before the date of the enactment of this subsection.

In other words, there would still be literally millions of such feeding devices in circulation, mostly magazines capable of holding 15-40 rounds, that could be legally possessed or transferred by private owners or dealers.