In several cities across California, ammunition sales are booming at an unprecedented rate. According to CBS News, ” In Concord, sales have rocketed 968 percent. In Santa Clara, sales have spiked 315 percent.” Due to badly misinformed California ammo laws, Californians can no longer have ammo shipped directly to their door. Instead, they must conduct business through a third-party, licensed ammo dealer.
Assembly Bill 156 is an absolute travesty not only for California shooters but for the basic principles of freedom and civil liberties. Under AB-156, “Golden State” residents cannot purchase ammunition from neighboring free states and bring them back home. Rumors are circulating among Second Amendment proponents that California law enforcement officers will receive tips from spies (for lack of a better word), who will then pull over suspected violators.
Essentially, these new California ammo laws are designed to criminalize activities that were once perfectly legal and mundane. As a result, demand has naturally skyrocketed. Unfortunately, this is nothing more than an artificial spike from asinine gun control. Without a healthy source of revenue for small businesses, the broader economy will take a good-sized beating.
What liberals fail to understand is that the Second Amendment provides jobs. These new California ammo laws, along with other gun control measures, hurt employment. But it’s not just the firearm industry that will be negatively impacted. Instead, it’s everyone in the supply chain.
Out-of-state ammo providers pay taxes and licensing fees, which directly support their local economy. Moreover, courier businesses like FedEx or UPS deliver ammo to California consumers. These companies hire workers to ensure that the package arrives as scheduled. Finally, the couriers have to load up on fuel, which further grows the underlying economy. The liberals behind AB-156 foolishly eliminate these revenue-generating activities.
In spite of all the terrible legislation, there might be some hope. I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if the recently passed California ammo laws eventually are deemed unconstitutional. All Americans inherently have a right to freedom of commerce. No government body can discriminate against citizens simply on their exercise of the Second Amendment.
Furthermore, this insane gun control measure is practically unenforceable. It would cost tremendous money and resources to have agents spy on anyone with a California license plate (of which there are millions).
And what exactly do they intend to do with the undoubtedly thousands of residents who are ignorant of these California ammo laws? Throw them into already crowded prisons? That really is the absurdity of AB-156. If strictly enforced to the letter of the law, the government will hurt the economy by incarcerating otherwise perfectly good people.
But then again, isn’t that the ultimate aim of gun control?