Dori: Tacoma mayor’s gun tax analogy makes zero sense

Despite the fact that we have a gun tax, there was another murder in South Seattle this week. As we predicted, the tax had zero effect — in fact, gun violence has gone up.

Tacoma, as we’ve also talked about, is thinking about a similar tax. You’re not going to believe what Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards said to Q13’s Brandi Kruse.

While this tax won’t stop gun violence, it will help pay for the damage that guns cause. It’s not to take away anybody’s Second Amendment right, but it’s to help pay for some of the causes of what guns bring to a community.

I think she meant to say “effects” rather than “causes.” Either way, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. You know that none of that money is going to go toward curbing gun violence.

Dori: Tacoma gun tax is gov. deciding what businesses are acceptable

Criminals who use guns don’t tend to buy guns at gun shops. They buy them on the streets in back-alley deals.

Brandi asked the mayor why the responsible gun owners should have to pay this tax. The mayor’s response was unbelievable.

That’s like saying, ‘My car is in the driveway and I only drive it two days a week, not seven days a week, but every time I go to the gas station, I still have to pay the tax when I fill it up.’

That’s a ridiculous analogy. Driving a car and paying a gas tax are not similar to owning a gun and paying a tax. Guns are guaranteed by the Second Amendment. Cars are not. They are a privilege.

The legal, law-abiding gun owners who use their firearms for hunting or defending their homes have got to pay a tax to cover for the criminals who buy guns on the street and pay no taxes. Does that make any sense at all?

These are the kinds of attitudes we’re dealing with in the Puget Sound, whether it’s on this tax or the car tabs issue.

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