Garybrock, just to let you know, seeming that you're new here, political slanders and assaults on things, such as you're doing with the "people's republic" title generally don't fly, as they promote political debate on a level that breaks down to slander and hate speech. So, I'd just advise you to keep that to a minimum in the future.
In anycase, I've always felt mail order ammo was a bit too much of a risk to weigh out the positives, unless it's ordering a huge amount of ammo. I'd suggest you talk to your police department to see what the real truth is and then maybe get in touch with a store that's not midway.