Reps. Watson Coleman & Mfume Reintroduce Bill to Place Safeguards on Online Ammunition Sales

Reps. Watson Coleman & Mfume Reintroduce Bill to Place Safeguards on Online Ammunition Sales

Today, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) and Congressman Kweisi Mfume (MD-07) announced the reintroduction of the Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act, legislation that would place limits and safeguards on the online market for ammunition.

"For years, we've watched the toll of gun violence grow while Congress fails to act. The numbers tell a devastating story, but behind every statistic is a family and a community grieving their loss," said Watson Coleman. "Regulating online ammunition sales is a commonsense step to countering the number of mass shootings we see every year. This legislation closes the loophole that makes tragedies like these so unfortunately common. Public safety must come before convenience for an unregulated market: Americans send us to Washington because it is our job to protect them, not mourn them."

"Since we last introduced this bill, the crisis of mass shootings has continued unabated. We've been living with this scourge of violence for so many years as assault weapons and enormous amounts of ammunition continue to fall into the hands of diabolical people," said Mfume. "Mass shootings are not going to stop on their own, and we cannot keep waiting for the next one to occur. I cannot thank Congresswoman Watson Coleman enough for her leadership and am proud to co-lead this effort to protect innocent lives and keep deadly ammunition away from those who would do us harm."

Recent events include a December 2025 shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island that killed two people and injured nine, and a November 2025 attack at a child's birthday party in Stockton, California that left four people dead - 3 of them children - and 17 wounded. These tragedies underscore that gun violence continues to strike college campuses, family gatherings, and communities across the country.

Since Congresswoman Watson Coleman took office in January 2015, there have been at least 3,503 mass shooting events in the United States through the end of 2025, resulting in over 5,300 deaths and more than 22,000 injuries in incidents where four or more people were shot or killed. In 1996, Australia enacted common-sense firearm regulations following a mass shooting, and gun deaths were significantly reduced. Similar policy responses followed high-profile shootings in the U.K. and New Zealand, both of which strengthened their gun safety laws in the wake of national tragedies.

The Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act would require federally licensed ammunition dealers to confirm the identity of individuals who arrange to purchase ammunition over the internet by verifying a photo I.D. in person. The bill would also require ammunition vendors to report any sales of more than 1,000 rounds within five consecutive days to the U.S. Attorney General, if the person purchasing ammunition is not a licensed dealer.

The Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act is cosponsored by Reps. Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Don Beyer (VA-8), Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Diana DeGette (CO-01), Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Dan Goldman (NY-10), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-At Large), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Kathy Castor (FL-14), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Judy Chu (CA-28), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), and Salud Carbajal (CA-24).