Local Businesses Suffer from Nationwide Ammo Shortage
Senate Committee Passes Assault Weapons Ban
Council Bluffs, IA - George Scott can fix any old gun or sell a new one. For forty years he's been a gun enthusiast. Lately, he fears his livelihood is in jeopardy. A nationwide ammunition shortage is causing fewer customers to walk through his gun store, Der Jagerhof.
"I've never seen anything like it," says Scott. Since the Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut in December, people are stocking up on ammo, afraid that soon, it will be unavailable.
Scott says President Obama's gun control proposals don't help either. The President wants to ban military style assault weapons and ban high capacity magazines.
"It's an artificial crisis where people are starting to think they're going to be restricted," says Scott.
Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted in favor of the assault weapons ban. The White House urged Congress to pass it quickly. An assault weapons ban became law in 1994, but Congress failed to renew it.
Back in the Council Bluffs gun shop, demand for ammunition is high, supply is low. When Scott calls suppliers to restock, he doesn't get much. He says the usual response from ammunition manufacturers is they're busy with orders and the wait may be awhile.
Since there are so few bullets to go around and the wait is long, those who do have ammunition are selling it for ten times the normal amount. A box that would normally be sold for one dollar, is now ten dollars.
Scott says before you buy a weapon or ammunition, do your research and watch out for faulty equipment or scams.
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