California Senate votes to require thumb print of anyone buying ammunition [priv]

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Earlier, related alert from NRA:
http://www.nraila.org/CurrentLegislation/Read.aspx?ID=1102-L

Summary of how California state DOJ illegally confiscated legal firearms 
 door-to-door earlier this year:
http://www.nraila.org/CurrentLegislation/Read.aspx?ID=961-L

This is a shocking invasion of privacy. I hope the usual privacy groups, 
which seem to have been silent so far, will condemn this bill.

-Declan

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http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=%5CPolitics%5Carchive%5C200405%5CPOL20040526a.html

No Thumbprint to Buy Bullets, Gun Group Says
By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Morning Editor
May 26, 2004

(CNSNews.com) - The California Senate has passed a bill that would 
require ammunition buyers to provide a thumb print when the purchase is 
made. But a pro-Second Amendment group is condemning what it calls "an 
insidious invasion of privacy."

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) said 
that keeping records on ammunition sales has proven ineffective in 
fighting crime. "Requiring a thumb print moves this idea into the realm 
of the ludicrous," said CCRKBA Executive Director Joe Waldron.

"It's a waste of time and taxpayers' money, but more importantly, this 
constitutes a serious privacy issue. If this measure dealt with 
something other than a gun control issue, the ACLU would be screaming 
about it," Waldron added.

He said if the measure becomes state law, it would be yet another 
example of how California lawmakers treat honest gun owners like criminals.

"What comes next?" Waldron asked. "Will citizens be required to submit a 
fingerprint to buy a car? Will the next dumb idea force gun owners to 
submit their medical records before they can legally buy firearms and 
ammunition?"

Senate Bill 1152 passed the California Senate last week by a vote of 
22-16 and now has been sent to the Assembly.

The bill requires that "all vendors of ammunition maintain specified 
information" on ammunition buyers, including: (1) the date of the 
transaction; (2) the name, address, and date of birth of the buyer; (3) 
the buyer's driver's license or other identification number and the 
state in which it was issued; (4) the brand, type, and amount of 
ammunition bought or transferred; (5) the buyer's signature; (6) the 
name of the salesperson who processed the transaction; and (7) "the 
vendor shall also at the time of purchase or transfer obtain the right 
thumbprint of the purchaser or transferee."

[...]
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