Wayne Co. commissioner seeks 'bullet bill' resolution to limit ammunition sales

Breana Noble | The Detroit News

A resolution introduced in Wayne County seeks to encourage state and federal legislators to regulate and limit ammunition sales.

Outgoing District 6 Commissioner Reggie "Reg" Davis submitted the resolution to the commission's chair, Gary Woronchak, to encourage Michigan and U.S. leaders to adopt policies to end gun violence. If the commission does that, Davis said, he plans to seek passage of an ordinance to adopt the policies for which his resolution calls.

"In Detroit, it's the wild, wild west," Davis, a Democrat, told The Detroit News in a phone interview. "I want to stop turning on the TV every day seeing a younger version of myself at a gas station or a coney island, seeing these kids kill each other. We need some sort of control."

Davis spoke about his resolution before members of the media Tuesday morning at Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit, where his brother and uncle, slain from gun violence, are entombed.

Davis' resolution would call for ammunition sales to require a background check, including a mental health evaluation. It also would encourage levying higher taxes on ammunition and limiting the number of bullets a person can buy.

Davis said the resolution also would seek the ability for people to purchase ammunition at a law enforcement agency, where they could get a background check done, as well. He said he is not seeking to limit its purchase at stores or gun shows.

Revenue made from bullet sales and taxes, Davis said, could go toward families of gun violence victims and educating people on gun safety and the Second Amendment.

"To the NRA, we’re not trying to destroy anything you stand for," Davis said. "I support the Second Amendment. But I'm looking to build a better community for urban Americans, for Detroiters."

The NRA did not respond for a comment.

Davis also recently learned of a push in California to include serial numbers on bullets. He said he hopes to add an addendum to the resolution he is proposing that would call for a way to track bullets, though he expressed concern that using serial numbers for each bullet would be costly.

Davis said he would like to see the resolution passed at the meeting of the 15-member board on Oct. 4 or the one after. He is hopeful for the resolution but is doubtful an ordinance could survive since it would likely face legal challenges.

"We are all creatures of the state," Davis said. "They can trump anything we do, but I don't care. I want to fight."

Earlier in his life, Davis said he had an "affinity" for guns, owning sniper rifles, double barrel sawed-off shotguns, Glocks, revolvers and more. That changed on Feb. 19, 2001, when his 19-year-old brother, Vito, died in a botched armed robbery.

Now, he said he no longer carries a weapon on him, though he added that "no one should try breaking into my house at 3 a.m."

"You have one or two or three of those moments in your life that brings you closer to God, gives you a more crisp vision of life," Davis said. "It definitely gave me a clearer vision of my life, and I'm going to fight until my dying day against this gun violence."

bnoble@detroitnews.com