Bill Information for SB3395
Tennesseans, be certain to contact your state senators to oppose the above bill, the "Ammunition Accountability Act."
Some of the relevant language:
"(4) Bullet coding is a new and effective way for law enforcement to quickly identify persons of interest in gun crime investigations.
SECTION 3.
For purposes of this act, "coded ammunition" means a bullet carrying a unique identifier that has been applied by etching onto the base of the bullet projectile.
SECTION 4.
(a) All handgun and assault weapon ammunition manufactured or sold in the state after January 1, 2009, shall be coded by the manufacturer.
(b) No later than January 1, 2011, all non-coded ammunition for the calibers listed in this act, whether owned by private citizens or retail outlets, shall be disposed."
Here is a copy of the email I sent to my senator, Jim Tracy:
"Senator Tracy, I respectfully urge you to do everything possible to defeat the "Ammunition Accountability Act," SB 3395, sponsored by Senator Reginald Tate from Memphis. This bill, if enacted, would cause the price of ammunition to skyrocket in the state, if indeed any ammunition manufacturer were willing to sell ammunition manufactured to such an expensive and exacting (not to mention unproven) standard.* This bill is indeed nothing more than an end-run around both the United States and Tennessee Constitutions' provisions with regard to keeping and bearing arms. Indeed, perhaps the more appropriate title for this bill might be the "Tennessee Victim Self-Defense Denial Act."
"Such a standard of manufacture might make law enforcement acquisition of ammunition extremely difficult as well. On the other hand, to believe that criminals (who already are willing to break existing laws with severe penalties against murder, armed robbery, rape, and other heinous crimes) will not simply illegally obtain regular ammunition in other states and import such ammunition into Tennessee to further their criminal enterprise is laughable on its face. Again, I sincerely request that you expend every effort possible to defeat this dangerous, pernicious bill.
"I would like to receive your honest assessment of the likelihood of this bill becoming law during this General Assembly.
"Thank you for your service to your constituents, and to all citizens of Tennessee.
"* Given that all manufactured firearms ammunition of which I am currently aware, except for some exotic non-cased ammunitions, propel the bullet through the barrel and out of the muzzle of the firearm by virtue of the force of expanding, hot gas applying thrust to the base of the bullet, I must question if any current technology exists which will not prevent the marking proposed for the base of the bullet in this bill to become melted, defaced, or otherwise unreadable. I have heard of schemes which seek to etch a firearm's serial number onto a firing pin to mark fired casings (easily defeated by replacing with an after-market firing pin), but I have never heard of this "technology" before...."
I hope this has virtually no chance of passing anyway, but let's hasten its demise by contacting your senators:
Tennessee Senate Members
BTW, Senator Tracy is a strong supporter of the RKBA, NRA "A" rating.
Tennesseans, be certain to contact your state senators to oppose the above bill, the "Ammunition Accountability Act."
Some of the relevant language:
"(4) Bullet coding is a new and effective way for law enforcement to quickly identify persons of interest in gun crime investigations.
SECTION 3.
For purposes of this act, "coded ammunition" means a bullet carrying a unique identifier that has been applied by etching onto the base of the bullet projectile.
SECTION 4.
(a) All handgun and assault weapon ammunition manufactured or sold in the state after January 1, 2009, shall be coded by the manufacturer.
(b) No later than January 1, 2011, all non-coded ammunition for the calibers listed in this act, whether owned by private citizens or retail outlets, shall be disposed."
Here is a copy of the email I sent to my senator, Jim Tracy:
"Senator Tracy, I respectfully urge you to do everything possible to defeat the "Ammunition Accountability Act," SB 3395, sponsored by Senator Reginald Tate from Memphis. This bill, if enacted, would cause the price of ammunition to skyrocket in the state, if indeed any ammunition manufacturer were willing to sell ammunition manufactured to such an expensive and exacting (not to mention unproven) standard.* This bill is indeed nothing more than an end-run around both the United States and Tennessee Constitutions' provisions with regard to keeping and bearing arms. Indeed, perhaps the more appropriate title for this bill might be the "Tennessee Victim Self-Defense Denial Act."
"Such a standard of manufacture might make law enforcement acquisition of ammunition extremely difficult as well. On the other hand, to believe that criminals (who already are willing to break existing laws with severe penalties against murder, armed robbery, rape, and other heinous crimes) will not simply illegally obtain regular ammunition in other states and import such ammunition into Tennessee to further their criminal enterprise is laughable on its face. Again, I sincerely request that you expend every effort possible to defeat this dangerous, pernicious bill.
"I would like to receive your honest assessment of the likelihood of this bill becoming law during this General Assembly.
"Thank you for your service to your constituents, and to all citizens of Tennessee.
"* Given that all manufactured firearms ammunition of which I am currently aware, except for some exotic non-cased ammunitions, propel the bullet through the barrel and out of the muzzle of the firearm by virtue of the force of expanding, hot gas applying thrust to the base of the bullet, I must question if any current technology exists which will not prevent the marking proposed for the base of the bullet in this bill to become melted, defaced, or otherwise unreadable. I have heard of schemes which seek to etch a firearm's serial number onto a firing pin to mark fired casings (easily defeated by replacing with an after-market firing pin), but I have never heard of this "technology" before...."
I hope this has virtually no chance of passing anyway, but let's hasten its demise by contacting your senators:
Tennessee Senate Members
BTW, Senator Tracy is a strong supporter of the RKBA, NRA "A" rating.