Local law-enforcement agencies are feeling the strain of a nationwide ammunition shortage as fears grow among gun owners across the country anticipating pending gun control legislation.
Police departments are reporting the increased demand for ammunition and firearms is limiting their own supply that they are usually able to provide to their officers.
Sheriff Maxey Cerliano in Gregg County, Texas, warned deputies in March the department would not be able to supply ammunition for the upcoming firearm qualifications for the first time in 13 years due to the shortage. He was able to relieve officers of that burden when the ammunition order that he had placed 60 days before finally arrived, The Longview News-Journal reports.
“I have instructed my firearms instructor to place another order so we don’t end up in this jam again,” Maxey explained. “It’s still hard to come by in bulk.”
Sheriff Anthony DeMeo of Nye County, Nev., was told his department’s regular order of 50,000 rounds could take up to a year to arrive.
“This is the first time ever I’ve heard that there’s a problem with a law-enforcement agency getting ammo for their agency,” DeMeo told The Las Vegas Sun.
These departments are not alone. Law enforcement agencies in Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Georgia are among many that are having to limit how much they give their officers due to the shortage.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has reported that it is seeking 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition.
Colorado and New York have already passed gun-control measures, while the Senate could propose such legislation as early as this week.
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