Dan Daley refiles Jaime’s Law to vet the sale and transfer of ammunition

Image via Coral Springs Talk.

Rep. Dan Daley, a Coral Springs Democrat, is bringing back legislation aimed at keeping ammunition out of dangerous hands.

That measure (HB 25) is emerging months ahead of the 2021 Legislative Session. It expands provisions in state law requiring background checks for gun sales. Daley’s bill would also add those safeguards to ammunition sales.

The bill mirrors legislation Daley filed ahead of the 2020 Legislative Session.

Like the current law on background checks, law enforcement officers and those with concealed weapons permits would not face mandatory background checks for ammunition purchases.

Ammunition can be freely transferred at shooting ranges, or hunting and fishing sites, so long as “the transferor has no reason to believe that the transferee will use or intends to use the ammunition in a crime or that the transferee is prohibited from possessing ammunition under state or federal law.”

Essentially, the bill isn’t putting up additional roadblocks for those activities, so long as the transferor doesn’t know the person receiving the ammo is doing so in violation of the law.

Sen. Lauren Book, a Plantation Democrat, filed a companion bill alongside Daley before the last Session. So far, no Senate version has been filed, though there remains plenty of time for Book or another Senator to pick up that mantle. Senate bills have not been posted yet as leadership awaits final committee appointments.

The bill is named “Jaime’s Law” after Jaime Guttenberg, who was one of the 17 people killed during the 2018 attack on Stoneman Douglas High School.

Daley served on the Coral Springs City Commission before taking over the House District 97 seat. He replaced former Rep. Jared Moskowitz in 2019, though Daley wasn’t seated until after the 2019 Session.

Coral Springs neighbors Parkland and is home to several families affected by the 2018 shooting.

“As a graduate of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, nothing is more important to me than preventing another tragedy like what our community experienced from ever happening again,” Daley said Monday in a statement announcing the legislation.

“Jaime’s Law is a huge step in the right direction towards ensuring that weapons and ammunition stay out of dangerous hands. It’s also common sense and does not restrict the rights of legal gun owners. 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?”

Democrats made a push last Session to advance additional gun regulations. Calls for a Special Session in 2019 failed following a series of shootings in Texas and Ohio. Republicans blocked most of those proposals — including Daley’s — during the 2020 Session.

Fred Guttenberg, Jaime’s father, has worked as an advocate to expand gun regulation since the 2018 attack. He supports Daley’s efforts.

“With approximately 400,000,000 weapons already on the streets, we must make it harder for those who intend to kill to do so,” Guttenberg said.

“Prohibited purchasers of weapons are also prohibited from buying ammunition, but there is no mechanism in place to keep that ammunition out of their hands. We must close this ammunition loophole and this bill is a step in the right direction to do it. Jaime’s Law will help save lives immediately.”