WASHINGTON - Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, along with 20 other state attorneys general in the U.S., sent a letter to Congressional leaders calling for either background checks or a firearms license in order to buy ammunition.
The letter, written Monday by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and supported by AGs from mostly Democratic states, specifically shows support for legislation known as Jaime's Law. That bill, introduced in the House in March, would make it illegal for "prohibited purchasers" under federal law to buy or possess ammunition.
Jaime's Law, if passed, would make it so that individuals would "either have to be licensed to own a firearm or undergo a background check to purchase ammunition," states the letter from the attorneys general. The law is named after Jaime Guttenberg, who was one of the 17 people killed in a school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
The move comes after an increased number of mass shootings in the past several weeks, including two in west Texas and one in Dayton, Ohio. However, the letter also says that "while mass shootings garner the most media attention, they represent only a fraction of the American lives lost to guns and gun violence." According to the Pew Research Center, roughly 60% of all gun-related deaths are due to suicide.
In the cases not related to suicide, Weiser and the other AGs say Jaime's Law would "add protections without infringing on law-abiding citizens' rights to own firearms, nor on states' rights to regulate firearms as they see fit."
The bill hasn't been advanced in the House since it was introduced in March. The AGs say they hope the House Judiciary Committee will consider the bill in the fall.