Lawmakers Want to Track Every Bullet Sold in Illinois billj 08.31.16



In the annals of really dumb gun control ideas, bullet tracking is way up there on the scale of stupid. But that doesn’t stop know-nothing legislators from periodically championing it, especially when a private company, which happens to make bullet-tracking technology, has promised to move its HQ to your town.

The latest resurrection of this zombie idea comes courtesy of State Rep. Sonya Harper (D-Chicago), who thinks that bullet serial number technology is the answer to Chicago’s notorious violence problems.

‘Since we are having such a hard time tracking the flow of illegal guns into our communities, let’s start tracking the bullets,’ Harper said at a media conference at U.S. Bank, 815 W. 63rd St., in Englewood. ‘More than 2,600 people have been shot in the city of Chicago so far this year, many of them children in my own community. Being able to track fired bullets directly back to the seller will help law enforcement agencies target those who are distributing ammunition illegally.’

Appearing on the dais with Harper to promote this scheme was the CEO of Ammo Coding Systems, a company that–you guessed it–makes and promotes bullet tracking technology.

The company, which has an office in Washington DC, is up-front on its website about the fact that the only way ammo makers will ever adopt its technology is if they’re forced to by the government:

There are several well known manufacturers currently producing a significant portion of the current commercially available ammunition in the United States. Each ammunition producer would be required to purchase at least one, if not more, laser engraving machines and ammunition material handlers to produce ACS coded ammunition. There are several manufacturers who can design and build this equipment. Reliable estimates for a complete set of engraving/material handling equipment range from $300,000 to $500,000 each. A licensing fee for each bullet sold would also be required. However, since approximately 10 billion bullets are sold in the United States alone each year, equipment costs, once amortized over the number of bullets produced and sold are not significant.

So, first you get the Feds to require your technology for all ammo made in the USA, and then you charge a license fee for each bullet sold. Profit! What could be simpler?

What about reloaders? One imagines that reloading would basically be illegal under such a scheme, which is probably how the government wants it, anyway.

Of course, the only thing this would accomplish apart from spurring lawsuits while making Illinois gun owners miserable would be to create a thriving black market for out-of-state ammo. This scheme just can’t work in a country where you can drive across state lines and buy up as much unmarked ammo as you want.

And let’s not forget that laser engraved on a bullet jacket can be removed with a bit of sandpaper.

I could go on debunking this, but there’s so much stupid here it would take all day.

These ACS goons have been around since 2008, writing and pushing their suggested legislation on various state and local governments.

At one point they had a nonprofit website set up called AmmoAccountability.org, but it’s down now.

This Chicago push is probably their last attempt to get paid before slipping away into well-deserved oblivion.