House Democrats are at it again, pushing a bill to ban online ammunition sales under the guise of common sense gun safety measures. The proposal, which reeks of the same overreach we’ve seen in past assaults on the Second Amendment, claims to curb violence by forcing every round of ammo to be purchased in-person at brick-and-mortar stores. But let’s cut through the rhetoric: this isn’t about safety—it’s a blatant power grab aimed at law-abiding gun owners. Criminals don’t shop on Ammo.com; they steal, smuggle, or hit the black market. Data from the ATF’s own trace reports backs this up—less than 1% of crime guns are linked to legal online ammo purchases. This is unconstitutional theater, violating the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision by imposing arbitrary restrictions without historical precedent, much like the failed bump stock ban that got smacked down.
Dig deeper, and the hypocrisy shines through. Proponents point to mass shootings, yet ignore that online sales have exploded since 2020 without a corresponding spike in ammo-fueled crime—ATF stats show violent crime peaking in 2022 before declining amid record online ammo volume. The real-world fallout? Everyday Americans in rural areas or with disabilities lose access to affordable, vetted ammo from reputable vendors like MidwayUSA or Brownells, driving up prices (already inflated 300% post-panic buys) and handing a monopoly to big-box stores in blue states. It’s a sneaky end-run around direct gun bans, echoing California’s Prop 63 ammo background check fiasco, which cost millions and stopped zero criminals while burdening 99% innocents.
For the 2A community, this is a wake-up call: contact your reps, flood the House Judiciary Committee with opposition, and support orgs like GOA and FPC suing this into oblivion. If it passes, expect copycats in the Senate and states—turning a minor convenience into a federally mandated pilgrimage for every plinking session. We’ve beaten worse; stock up while you can, and keep fighting. The right to keep and bear arms includes the means to exercise it, not government gatekeepers deciding your reloads.
