Press

“In a letter to the Army Secretary on Friday, Representative Robert Garcia, a Democrat from California, said that ‘federal subsidies may be artificially increasing the availability of ammunition in the civilian marketplace and contributing to serious violence by private citizens.’ … Mr. Garcia cited The Times’s reporting, as well as a subsequently published Bloomberg article about Lake City … Earlier this month Mr. Garcia, along with Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, introduced a bill aimed at putting more controls on ammunition sales — which are largely unregulated — by requiring sellers to obtain a federal license and to conduct background checks on buyers. It would also limit bulk sales of ammunition and prevent so-called straw purchases, in which a buyer with a clean record turns around and sells to someone else.”

THE BUZZ: The old way of thinking for U.S. House members was simple: Try to keep a low profile and avoid hot-button partisan fights as you learn the ropes.

There are, of course, exceptions — and California Rep. Robert Garcia is trying hard to be one.