By Matt Drange
Eureka Times - Standard
While the holiday shopping season is long gone, some Humboldt County residents are stocking up on ammunition for fear of a new California law that goes into effect next month placing restrictions on the purchase of bullets.
Under the law, those buying handgun ammunition will be required to provide vendors with their thumbprint, address and photo identification, with the idea that it will make the task of investigating and preventing gun-related crime easier for law enforcement. Convicted felons who are already barred from owning a gun, for example, can still purchase bullets under the current law.
But for some, the restrictions are another example of an infringement on gun rights protected by the Second Amendment.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty. It feels like our government is trying to control us more and more,” said a customer at Pro Sport Center in Eureka on Sunday. The customer declined to give his name for this story, but said he’s been buying ammunition in recent months every chance he gets.
“Why have guns without ammunition?” said the customer, adding that he keeps at least a dozen guns at his Blue Lake home, including hunting rifles, handguns and a shotgun that he got from his parents for his 12th birthday. “We’re heading for a complete restriction on firearms. I don’t want the government to know what’s in my gun cabinet.”
Already home to some of the strictest gun laws in the country, California will add to the list beginning on Feb. 1, when people will no longer be able to purchase ammunition via the Internet or by mail order. Instead, buyers will need to pick up their ammunition at licensed vendors, like Pro Sport Center in Eureka.
John Corbett handles purchasing at the store and said he spent the end of last year traveling to gun shows and preparing for a possible increase in sales.
“In case there is a run, I want to make sure that we’re stocked up,” Corbett said, adding that he hopes to avoid a similar situation to the one in 2009, which featured a nation-wide rush on handguns and semi-automatic weapons that many feared would be banned under a new administration.
“That was the big push for a while,” Corbett said. “I remember Glocks being backordered by the thousands.”
Pro Sport Center isn’t the only local store preparing for a rush. Ron Snyder, a volunteer at Old West Shootery and Supply in Eureka, said he’s seen a similar increase in demand for ammunition in the last month.
“The .22 caliber is going really fast,” Snyder said, adding that gun sales have been relatively stable at the shop, which also features the county’s only indoor shooting range. A box of 50 rounds of .22-caliber bullets costs $9.95 at the store.
“All year they’ve been coming in, asking to buy 10 boxes at a time,” Snyder said. “People are just hoarding ammunition.”
Snyder said the new law is essentially an extension of existing gun laws, which require a background check of buyers and a 10-day waiting period to purchase a gun. Violations will be treated as a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
To adjust for the new law -- which is being challenged in a lawsuit brought about by gun-rights advocates in Fresno County -- people like Corbett are working on new forms to use when selling ammunition. Stores will soon be required to record who buys bullets, how many and which type, and will have to keep the information on file for five years.
“It’s just one more step for us,” Corbett said. “We want a system that’s easy on us and, most importantly, easy for the customer.”
Copyright 2011 Eureka Times - Standard