Bill to Require Background Checks for Ammo Purchases Introduced in Congress

If the bill passes, the law would use the FBI’s Instant Background Check System, which is the same one used for firearms purchases.

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On Monday, Connecticut U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal and U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) announced that they introduced the Ammunition Background Check Act of 2018. The proposed bill would require instant background checks for the sale of gun ammunition.

Right now under federal law, felons, domestic abusers or people who are deemed mentally dangerous are banned from buying a gun or ammunition. However, because federal law does not require a background check to buy ammunition, those people may slip through the cracks when they try to buy it. Blumenthal said this would fix that loop-hole.

“Ammunition checks serve all the same reasons as checks for purchases as guns. People who are dangerous to themselves or others, people who are in crisis, people who are convicted law breakers should undergo background checks,” Blumenthal said.

If the bill passes, the law would use the FBI’s Instant Background Check System, which is the same one used for firearms purchases, Fox 61 reports.

California will require background checks for ammunition buyers beginning July 1. New York also will soon require background checks for ammunition sales. Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts and New Jersey require background checks to obtain licenses to buy or possess ammunition.

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