FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Two Florida lawmakers said Monday they've filed legislation to require background checks for ammunition buyers.
The proposal is called "Jaime's Law," in honor of Jaime Guttenberg, one of the 17 people killed in the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre.
State Rep. Dan Daley, a Coral Springs Democrat, and state Sen. Lauren Book, a Plantation Democrat, said their proposal would apply to all sales of ammunition if it becomes law.
Current law prohibits someone who can't buy or possess a firearm from purchasing ammunition. Daley and Book said requiring background checks for ammunition buyers would close what they termed a loophole in the law.
Florida law prohibits someone from owning or possessing a firearm if the person has been convicted of a felony, is under a domestic violence restraining order, is deemed a "violent career criminal" or is the subject of an order under the state's red flag law, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
Under the state red-flag law, a judge can issue an extreme risk protection order seizing firearms from people deemed dangerous to themselves or others.
"If someone walks into a bar and orders a beer, a bartender is required by law to ask for their ID. Why isn't a vendor required by law to ensure that someone seeking to purchase ammunition is legally allowed to do so?" Daley said in prepared statement.
He and Book called it "common sense."
Prospects aren't great for passage of such a bill. The Florida Legislature has generally been friendly to gun owners and hostile to restrictions.
However, in an interview published Saturday by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Florida Senate President Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican, said the Senate would take up gun violence in next year's legislative session, and could consider restrictions including enhanced background checks and expanding the Florida red-flag law.
U.S. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., introduced a federal version of Jaime's Law earlier this year.
"Jaime's Law will help save lives immediately," said Fred Guttenberg, who has become a prominent advocate against gun violence since his daughter was killed.
