The Long Beach City Council voted last night to support a proposal introduced by Vice Mayor Bonnie Lowenthal and Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske requiring Long Beach firearms ammunition vendors to keep records of ammunition sales.
“Ammunition sales records are an important crime prevention and investigation tool,” stated Vice Mayor Bonnie Lowenthal. “With ammunition sales records, our law enforcement officials will have a mechanism to deter prohibited purchasers from attempting to buy ammunition while keeping track of ammunition sales to identify when an illegal sale has been made.”
The proposal aims to curb illegal sales and purchases of ammunition. Both federal and state laws prohibit certain convicted individuals from purchasing ammunition, but there are no mechanisms in place to enforce these laws as no background check is required for ammunition purchases.
The Council proposal requires ammunition purchasers to provide information about their identity, including address, date of birth, drivers license, signature and thumbprint. The record would also include the date of the transaction, brand and type of ammunition purchased, and the name of the sales person who processed the transaction.
Long Beach Police Department supports this proposal, and Chief Robert Luna cited three other cities who have passed similar ordinances: Los Angeles, West Hollywood, and Santa Monica.
This recorded information would assist police detectives in identifying persons who may have purchased ammunition but are legally prohibited from owning or possessing ammunition. The proposal was referred to the Public Safety Committee and the Public Safety Advisory Commission for study and recommendation by an 8 – 0 vote.