Ammunition encoding--a nationwide effort?

Last week, I took a look at four bills festering in the Illinois Politburo legislature that would require ammunition to be encoded with unique (from box to box) serial numbers. The expense of implementing such a program, coupled with the near utter lack of any utility as a crime-fighting tool, makes, I suspect, passage of any of these bills quite unlikely, even here in Illinois.

Still, the citizen disarmers are going to take their shots (no pun intended), and while we on the pro-rights side busy putting out fires, that's effort we won't be using to actually advance our cause. I can therefore see, from a tactical point of view, why introducing such bills is seen as worth it to them, even if they aren't likely to pass (and who knows--maybe I'm underestimating how bad things have gotten in Illinois, and they really do intend to make a real fight over this abomination).

It's a bit more surprising to me to see such legislation proposed in traditionally gun-friendly states, but it's happening. War on Guns tells us of such efforts (both House and Senate) in Tennessee. I suspect such efforts are especially quixotic in Tennessee, but as WoG points out, Tennessee did give us Al Gore, so I should perhaps not take anything for granted.

Mississippi is another southern state, generally perceived as pro-gun, that is considering such legislation. Interestingly, a look at the text of the bill shows that one of the cosponsors is newly elected Senator Eric Powell. I say "interestingly," because of Senator Powell's NRA endorsement, his platform that includes "Second Amendment rights," and his promise that he "will lead the opposition to any move in the legislature to undermine our Second Amendment rights." He certainly seems to be "lead[ing] the opposition" in a rather odd direction, doesn't he?

I realize that Sen. Powell does not come up for reelection until 2011, but I hope Mississippi gun owners and his district remember his treachery then.