<p>Lawmakers in California are ringing in the new year with a war on ;ammo. ;</p>
<p>As of January 1st, all ammunition sales in the state of California must be conducted by or processed through licensed vendors. &ldquo;Sales of ammunition by unlicensed individuals must be processed through a licensed ammunition vendor, in a manner similar to private party firearms transactions,&rdquo; reads Proposition 63.</p>
<p>For residents who purchase ammo online, that means paying extra fees to have the purchase shipped to a licensed dealer. This change will cause an almost instantaneous increase in the price of ammunition. A second law slated for January 2019 will require a point-of-sale background check and additional fees for ammunition purchases. This will drive prices even higher. ;</p>
<p>Proposition 63 also requires criminals to surrender their guns when convicted of a serious crime and prohibits Californians from adding a bullet button accessory to an unregistered AR-15. ;</p>
<p>A bullet button is a small mod used to quickly release exhausted magazines from semiautomatic rifles. This feature keeps AR-15s just within the bounds of California law, which prohibits AR-15s with magazines that can&rsquo;t be removed without the aid of a tool. ;</p>
<p>These rules are all part of Proposition 63, which was written by Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom and the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The ;proposition, which was approved last November, will add to California&rsquo;s already strict gun control laws, which require buyers to obtain a state-issued firearm safety permit and pass a background check before buying. After waiting 10 days to receive the firearm, a buyer then has to register that firearm with the state. ;</p>
<p>Due to California&rsquo;s &ldquo;good cause&rdquo; requirement, it is nearly impossible to obtain a concealed carry permit in some areas. Take Los Angeles County, for example, where there are just 197 active concealed carry permits amid a population of more than 10 million. ;</p>
<p><strong>Author&rsquo;s Note:</strong> It seems the state of California is bound and determined to restrict guns, even though the Supreme Court has ruled that such controls are unconstitutional (<em>District of Columbia v. Heller</em>, 2008).</p>