Massachusetts Micro-Stamping Bill: Providing For Encoding of Ammunition!

[ronbok]

We've just received word that Rep. Douglas W. Petersen Eighth Essex will be filing a new bill shortly.

We don't have the full text yet, but we're going to provide you a sample of the unfinished version and keep an eye on the situation.

The bill thus far reads as follows:

SECTION 1. Chapter 140 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 122B the following section:-

Section 123C. In this section the following words shall have the following meanings:- “Manufacturer” a person who possesses a federal license to engage in the business of manufacturing ammunition for sale or distribution.

“Regulated firearm” a handgun or firearm that is any of the following specific assault weapons or their copies, regardless of which company produced and manufactured that assault weapon:

American Arms Spectre da Semiautomatic carbine;
AK-47 in all forms;
Algimec AGM-1 type semi-auto;
AR 100 type semi-auto;
AR180 type semi-auto;
Argentine L.S.R. semi-auto;
Australian Automatic Arms SAR type semi-auto;
Auto-Ordnance Thompson M1 and 1927 semi-automatics;
Barrett light .50 cal. semi-auto;
Baretta AR70 type semi-auto;
Bushmaster semi-auto rifle;
Calico models M-100 and M-900;
CIS SR 88 type semi-auto;
Claridge HI TEC C-9 carbines;
Colt AR-15, CAR-15, and all imitations except Colt AR-15 Sporter H-BAR rifle;
Daewoo MAX 1 AND MAX 2, aka AR 100, 110C, K-1;
Dragunov Chinese made semi-auto;
Famas semi-auto (.223 caliber);
Feather AT-9 semi-auto;
FN LAR and FN FAL assault rifle;
FNC semi-auto type carbine;
F.I.E./Franchi LAW 12 and SPAS 12 assult shotgun;
Steyr-AUG-SA semi-auto;
Galil models AR and ARM semi-auto;
Heckler and Koch HK-91 A3, HK-93 A2, HK-94 A2 and A3;
Holmes model 88 shotgun;
Avtomat Kalashnikov semiautomatic rifle in any format;
Manchester Arms “Commando” MK-45, MK-9;
Mandell TAC-1 semi-auto carbine;
Mossberg model 500 Bullpup assult shotgun;
Sterling Mark 6;
P.A.W.S. carbine;
Ruger mini-14 folding stock model (.223 caliber);
SIG 550/551 assault rifle (.223 caliber);
SKS with detachable magazine;
AP-74 Commando type semi-auto;
Springfield Armory BM-59, SAR-48, G3, SAR-3, M-21 sniper rifle, M1A, excluding the M1 Garand;
Street sweeper assault type shotgun;
Striker 12 assault shotgun in all formats;
Unique F11 semi-auto type;
Daewoo USAS 12 semi-auto shotgun;
UZI 9mm carbine or rifle;
Valmet M-76 and M-78 semi-auto;
Weaver Arms “Nighthawk” semi-auto carbine;
Wilkinson Arms 9mm semi-auto “Terry”

“Secretary” the secretary of public safety. A person may sell ammunition for a regulated firearm on in accordance with the following:-

(A)A manufacturer shall encode ammunition provided for retail sale for regulated firearms in a manner that the secretary establishes, so that:
1) The base of the bullet and the inside of the cartridge casing of each round in a box of ammunition are encoded with the same serial number;
2) Each serial number is engraved in such a manner that it is highly likely to permit identification after ammunition discharge and bullet impact, and
3) The outside of each box of ammunition is labeled with the name of the manufacturer and the same serial number used on the cartridge casings and bases of bullets contained in the box.

(B)Ammunition contained in one ammunition box may not be labeled with the same serial number as the ammunition contained in any other ammunition box from the same manufacturer.

An owner of ammunition for use in a regulated firearm that is not encoded by the manufacturer as provided above shall dispose of the ammunition.

The secretary shall establish and maintain an encoded ammunition database. A manufacturer that does business in the state shall provide the secretary for inclusion in the database: it’s name and address; the serial numbers of its ammunition offered for sale for regulated firearms in the state and other information that the secretary considers necessary.

A seller of ammunition for regulated firearms in the state shall provide the secretary for inclusion in the database: the date of each ammunition purchase; the name and date of birth of each purchaser of ammunition; the driver’s license number of the purchaser or other number issued to the purchaser by the state or federal government; the serial numbers of all ammunition for regulated firearms bought by the purchaser; and any other information that the secretary considers necessary.

A seller of encoded ammunition for regulated firearms shall maintain copies of all records submitted to the secretary for at least 3 years after the date of sale.

A violation of this section shall be punished by imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more that 1 year or a fine of $1,000 or both.

A person who willfully destroys or otherwise renders unreadable ...

 

[sksguns]

pretty soon they'll try a "Judge Dredd" where the round fired is encoded with the shootr's DNA.

Then nice thing about that is that it convicted the wrong guy. So it seems flawed.....you know.....if you have a clone....lmao!!!

 

[C-pher]

An owner of ammunition for use in a regulated firearm that is not encoded by the manufacturer as provided above shall dispose of the ammunition.

Are you kidding me? There's people that have stockpiled thousands of rounds of ammo. Can you imagine the cost of losing that much ammo?

And that would completely void out all competition shooting, as you wouldn't be able to reload.

 

[sksguns]

Are you kidding me? There's people that have stockpiled thousands of rounds of ammo. Can you imagine the cost of losing that much ammo?

And that would completely void out all competition shooting, as you wouldn't be able to reload.

excellent point....unless they sold and registered an encoding tool to people who reload.

 

[Adam_MA]

So will they have coded AND non-coded ammo. I have several guns that fall into that list, that also share calibers with sporting rifles!


Have I ever mentioned that I HATE this state!
Liquefaction Boston's waiting for you!

 

[sksguns]

not one of these laws or porposed laws does anything to prevent crimes from being comitted with guns.

 

[Adam_MA]

not one of these laws or porposed laws does anything to prevent crimes from being comitted with guns.

If you haven't already realized this, gun control isn't about guns or crime prevention at all. It's about control period.

 

[sksguns]

If you haven't already realized this, gun control isn't about guns or crime prevention at all. It's about control period.

You're right. I know.....it's just do freaking frustrating to see all this BS day after day and how easily the majority is duped into believing it.

 

[Admin]

What a douchebag....

 

[C-pher]

excellent point....unless they sold and registered an encoding tool to people who reload.

I don't see how they could do that. Who would you register every serial number with? Can you imagine the paperwork nightmare with this???

 

[snowjoker]

They can bite me...good luck making me "Dispose of my ammo"...This is one of the most idiotic things I have ever heard of.

The sheer nightare of making people dispose of non numbered ammo would be rediculous. How could you even enforce it?

The black market that would be created for "Non-Numbered" ammo would be staggering. And reloaders would make millions black marketing non numbered ammo.

Could you imagine what you could get for 500 rounds of .45 or 9mm non-numbered ammo on the street after a law like this went into effect? I bet it would be enough to make you want to go into the business of reloading or transporting...

 

[sksguns]

I don't see how they could do that. Who would you register every serial number with? Can you imagine the paperwork nightmare with this???

truth be told I don't see anyone on the gov't trying to make anything easy for us....as for the who, they'd create an organization at our expense...as far as the paper work...they already register all guns.

How much more difficult can it be?

 

[EddieCoyle]

I'm not worried about this actually passing.

 

[KMaurer]

Dumb as a bag of hammers. You see, your honor, this .223 ammunition isn't for a folding stock Mini-14; it's for my fixed stock Mini-14. And that 9mm isn't for a TEC-9, but for my Glock.

BTW, the proper way to dispose of ammunition is to empty the cartridge case of power and bullet using your firearm.

Ken

 

[Chris]

Remember when FFLs had to record ammunition purchases? That alone was a paperwork nightmare and thankfully rectified in the 1980's. This will be FAR FAR worse.

And you are all correct. This will do NOTHING to the crime rate (except maybe increase the illegal shipments across state lines) but will punish the law abiding.

The tact that needs to be played on these things is as follows:

We have been licensing gun owners in this state since the late 1930's. We have been registering every gun for decades. To date, that data has not resulted in a single case being solved which would not have been solved without the data.* This data collection scheme costs taxpayers MILLIONS of dollars every year to maintain. That's MILLIONS which does not go to schools, road repair, or even the capturing of real criminals. Now they want to add a product that is purchased hundreds of times more often than the guns themselves. Where is the potential BILLION dollars coming each year to do this?

*(if in fact such cases actually existed, the anti crowd would hold them as clear examples of why the data is needed. The fact that they don't and can't is a testament to the fact that it truly is 100% wasted money)

 

[Pilgrim]

Interesting isn't it, that all the guns listed that would require special ammo are the ones that most unlikely to be used in a crime?

It appears I can shoot my 1911 with unserialized ammo but I can't shoot my Thompson.

I can shoot my SKS with normal ammo but need special numbered ammo for my AK.

I can see Walmart asking "Is this for a pistol or rifle or for anyone of the guns on this list?"

or picture the Walmart clerk saying, "Is this ammo for a regular SKS or does yours have the detachable magazine? Well then, you need to buy this numbered ammo."

How about someone going into a cuppla boxes of numbered ammo and swapping some ammo from one to another. Pretty soon every cartridge will have to be checked and logged instead of box serial ranges. That would make it interesting.


IDIOTS, everyone one of them

 

[pdm]

Apparently they have made a better idiot. Sheesh.

 

[LoginName]

They tried to enact a similar scheme in CA (not to be confused with the current "microstamping" farce), and it didn't get far.

I don't know who the f*** Peterson and and all the other gun-grabbing pinheads think they're trying to fool with this crap.

It's a thinly veiled attempt to discourage ammo manufacturers and dealers from doing business in this state.

I can't see this going anywhere myself, but if the CA bill is signed into law, the asshats here will push harder a similar bill as a compromise to Petersons bile.

 

[sksguns]

maybe they just assign you one number or symbol that fits in your press and all your ammo that you load/re-load is stamped with the number or symbol registered to you.

When selling the ammo they just write down the number on the box and any brass or lead that is stamped with that number can be traced back to you the purchaser....

I don't think it's as tough as all that.

Why can't you run a stamped round through a 1911? Just because it doesn't have to be stamped doesn't mean it can be fired from that firearm and if the number is registered to you...then guess who will be blamed.

So if a thug breaks in and steals your ammo....then whammo for you.

What do I know...I'm not a re-loader. But nieither are they....

 

[Transporter]

Interesting isn't it, that all the guns listed that would require special ammo are the ones that most unlikely to be used in a crime?

It appears I can shoot my 1911 with unserialized ammo but I can't shoot my Thompson.

I can shoot my SKS with normal ammo but need special numbered ammo for my AK.

I can see Walmart asking "Is this for a pistol or rifle or for anyone of the guns on this list?"

or picture the Walmart clerk saying, "Is this ammo for a regular SKS or does yours have the detachable magazine? Well then, you need to buy this numbered ammo."

How about someone going into a cuppla boxes of numbered ammo and swapping some ammo from one to another. Pretty soon every cartridge will have to be checked and logged instead of box serial ranges. That would make it interesting.


IDIOTS, everyone one of them

Or if your SKS has a detachable magazine. That would require different ammo than a stock SKS.

And like Ken said, how're they to know whether I'm buying ammo for a fixed stock Mini-14, or a folding stock one?

Asshats.

Don't these fools have anything better to do, like getting stone drunk at 10am and playing grab-ass with their interns?

 

[csharpdev]

When are they going to stop passing and trying to pass laws that will only effect the law abiding citizen and try passing gun laws that only effect those federally prohibited from owning a gun.

I keep saying they should just pass a law requiring criminals to obey the law. The problem is that criminals don't obey the law, so pass a law requiring it. People say that's stupid, but it has just as much chance of reducing crime as any gun control law.

 

[Pilgrim]

An owner of ammunition for use in a regulated firearm that is not encoded by the manufacturer as provided above shall dispose of the ammunition.

So if I currently have .45 acp that I shoot in my Thompson and my other .45 pistols, which of it do I have to 'dispose of' and how?

Let's see now, I have these 1,00 rounds of .45. I was planning to use this one, and this one and this one in the Thompson. So these three will have to be disposed of.

I'll bring them to my local PD and give them to the Chief saying, "These three rounds are the ones I was planning on using in my evil gun." The other 997 rounds that I have will only be used in my good guns.

I repeat "IDIOTS" !!!!

 

[EddieCoyle]

I read it differently. It looks like he's trying to regulate all ammo in the calibers usable by the firearms on the list. In other words, it wouldn't matter if you were using the .45 ACP in your Thompson or 1911 - it would all have to meet the regulation.

 

[Chris]

When are they going to stop passing and trying to pass laws that will only effect the law abiding citizen and try passing gun laws that only effect those federally prohibited from owning a gun.

Because the only people that laws are written for are those that obey them. Criminals by definition do not obey laws.

While we're at it, lets discuss the meaning of "...shall not be infringed".

 

[Adam_MA]

Don't forget, that it also says that the serial number will have to be on the bullet too!

 

[Weerd Beard]

Or I can just stock up on ammo when I'm buying booze in New Hampshire

 

[matt1956]

and exactly how will they know if if have "disposed" of my ammo?

this is absolute total bullshit.

I can't say what i want to about this because im sure that i would get a knock on my door for my comments... but these a**h***s really know how to take shit way to freaking far.

if this even somewhat smells like it may pass, im gonna stock up on 10,000+ rounds of every thing I own or may want to own in the future.

I'll use my freaking equity line if i need to...

"F" Them!!!

 

[noelephant]

I'm already considering the move to NH... They do this and I'm out of here...

What a load of crap.

 

[C-pher]

I read it differently. It looks like he's trying to regulate all ammo in the calibers usable by the firearms on the list. In other words, it wouldn't matter if you were using the .45 ACP in your Thompson or 1911 - it would all have to meet the regulation.

That's the way that I was reading it...

if this even somewhat smells like it may pass, im gonna stock up on 10,000+ rounds of every thing I own or may want to own in the future.

And that would be a HUGE waste of money, because you would just have to despose of it as soon as this went into effect.

 

[Pilgrim]

Imagine ammo dealers having to dump (how?) potentially millions of rounds throughout the state.

I can't see how this could ever pass.