SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Dori: Tacoma passes gun, ammo tax, but violence won’t go down

Nov 13, 2019, 2:28 PM

guns, seattle, firearms, ammo, ammunition, ammo tax...

(File, Associated Press)

(File, Associated Press)

Tacoma has just passed one of the stupidest laws imaginable — a gun and ammo tax.

The tax will charge $25 per gun purchased, 2 cents on every round of ammo .22 caliber and below, and 5 cents for every round above that.

Here is what I truly do not understand: The city said it wants to model the tax after Seattle’s gun and ammo tax. What has happened in Seattle? The revenues from the tax are practically non-existent because nearly all the gun retailers have left Seattle. In the meantime, we still hear about horrific murders occurring in Seattle. In other words, it hasn’t done a thing.

In Tacoma, the mayor told Q13’s Brandi Kruse that the revenues from the gun tax will help pay for the negative effects of guns. She compared it to a gas tax making up for carbon emissions. Gun ownership is a right guaranteed by the Constitution — car ownership is not. The disconnect between what she said and common sense is staggering. She is saying that you are not causing any problems as a responsible gun owner, but you have to pay the price for the gang members and criminals who buy stolen guns on the street, without paying taxes.

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

Is this tax going to accomplish anything? No, but it feels good to the politicians. It no doubt makes them feel like they’re doing something positive. That is the heart of Leftism — selling things on an emotional basis when there are no facts to back it up.

One of the speakers at the council meeting compared the cost of the gun tax to five lattes. Why does everything with the Left come down to lattes? A latte a day for a year is $1,800. That’s real money. But the Left has to prey on people who don’t realize how expensive the habit is, because their ideas cannot stand up under the scrutiny of reality.

Dan Davies, co-owner of Mary’s Pistol’s, stated to KIRO 7 TV that taxing a gun purchase is like charging people $25 every time they vote or assemble. All of the above are rights guaranteed by the Constitution. What an absolutely fantastic point. Davies, who came on the show two weeks ago, said that he will have to close his shop within half a year because this tax will be so damaging. A large firearm manufacturer may also have to close or leave the city.

I predict that murders won’t change, gun violence won’t change, and gang membership won’t change, but companies will go out of business, and law-abiding gun owners will have to give more money to the government. What a perfect example of Leftism at work.

Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from 12-3 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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Dori: Tacoma passes gun, ammo tax, but violence won’t go down