Seattle primed for gun and ammo tax hike, regulations

The Seattle city council is ready to vote on a measure that would add a $25 tax to the price of every weapon and a nickel to every box of ammo as well as certain regulations that might make criminals out of law-abiding citizens.

From Seattle PI blog:

Gun-rights advocates protested, but a Seattle City Council committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve a two-pronged gun-safety plan, which would tax sales of guns and ammunition in Seattle and require that gun owners report the theft or loss of any firearm within 24 hours.

The council is slated to give final approval to the measure on Monday.

Harborview Medical Center treated 253 victims of gun violence in 2014 at a cost of $17 million, $12 million of that borne by the taxpayers, so it is right to “ask the gun industry to chip in and help defray those costs,”Seattle City Council President Tim Burgess, sponsor of the legislation, told colleagues.

If the legislation passes, the gun lobby is certain to draw a bead on it in court. The lobby prevailed three years ago, arguing state preemption and overturning a newly enacted Seattle ordinance that banned firearms in Emerald City parks.

The $25 tax on gun purchases will cause buyers to “travel to retailers outside Seattle,” Trevor Santos, manager of government relations for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, told council members. The burden of the tax, which also includes a five-cents-per-cartridge tax on ammunition, would fall on “law-abiding gun owners,” argued Santos, because criminals don’t patronize legitimate gun dealers (who run background checks).

The tax is expected to bring $300-500,000 a year to city coffers, although officials said Wednesday that the estimate is not one you can take to the bank. 

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Anti-gun fanatics are utterly clueless. They so blinded by their ideology that they refuse to use any reason or common sense at all when approaching the subject of gun laws.

First of all, the Constitution says “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” At what point does a “tax” become an infringement on someone’s 2nd amendment right? A $25 tax? A $1,000 tax? If the government is making it impossible for the average citizen to be able to own and bear a weapon (taxes, fees, licenses, training classes, etc), isn’t that a violation of the Constitution?

Furthermore, are they asking car manufacturers to “chip in” because hospitals treat car accident victims? Nope.

And yes, a $25 tax is either going to discourage good people from owning weapons, thereby raising the crime rate, or it’s going to cause people to drive out of the city to get their guns and Seattle isn’t going to see that revenue anyway.

Look, it’s not about safety or covering costs or any of the other things they say it’s about. They just don’t like guns. And through their efforts of trying to get rid of them, they are simply giving opportunity to bad guys to get their hands on weapons and use them in crimes.