Ammo is About to Get More Expensive and Harder to Buy in NY State

A new law is set to go into effect throughout New York next week that will make it harder for people to buy ammunition.

New York's new gun laws have been rolling out over the past year, and this month a new ammunition requirement is about to make purchasing bullets a bit more difficult.

The law now designates New York as a Point of Contact state for background checks. Starting next week, the state will begin conducting its own background checks on purchases of firearms, rifles, shotguns and ammunition. That's right, all customers attempting to buy not just guns, but any ammunition will also have to go through a background check before being allowed to walk out of the store with bullets.

How ammunition purchases will now work in New York State

Now, whenever someone goes into a store to buy ammunition the retailer must contact New York State Police to do a background check. Police will conduct the FBI National Instant Background Check database and let the retailer know if the customer is allowed to make the purchase. In the past, retailers would search the FBI NICS themselves.

Customers must wait to receive the all-clear before being able to purchase their ammunition.

Reasons for being denied the opportunity to buy ammunition

According to the New York State Police, there are several reasons why someone can now be disqualified from purchasing ammunition in New York State. The sale of ammunition can be denied if the buyer:

• Has been convicted of a felony offense
• Is a fugitive from justice
• Is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance
• Has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to a mental institution
• Is illegally or unlawfully in the United States, or has been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa (with limited exceptions)
• Has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions
• Has renounced U.S. citizenship, after having been a citizen of the United States
• Is subject to a qualifying order of protection that restrains the purchaser from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of such intimate partner
• Has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence
• Is under indictment for a felony offense

Extra charges for purchasing firearms and ammunition in New York

Because of the added expenses of the new background check system, those purchasing a firearm will now pay an additional $9.00 fee. Each ammunition transaction will include an extra $2.50 fee.

The changes officially go into effect on Wednesday, September 13.