SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

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

Oct 30, 2019, 6:40 AM

gun, gun tax...

(AP file photo)

(AP file photo)

The City of Tacoma delayed a vote on a gun tax modeled after Seattle’s, but it still looms large as the debate rages on.

This has been an absolute failure in Seattle because despite Seattle passing this tax, gun injuries and deaths have not gone down.

Why? Gang-bangers don’t buy their gun at gun stores. They buy their guns on the streets.

In Tacoma, the city council will eventually vote on a $25 tax on all retail firearms, and a tax on rounds of ammo ranging from 2 to 5 cents per round, depending on the size of ammunition.

Dori: Tacoma gun tax will only hurt businesses, law-abiding citizens

This is going to be another massive governmental failure. It’s not going to do anything about gun crime in Tacoma. All it will do is punish the law-abiding gun owners.

Surplus Ammo in Tacoma told KIRO 7 TV that this new gun tax will likely put their store out of business in a matter of months — and leave their 11 employees without jobs.

This is what leftist governments do. The governments, not the consumers, decide which law-abiding businesses are acceptable and which are not. And then they do everything they can to destroy the other businesses through taxation.

This is not about safety. The people who buy guns and ammo and who go to ranges to practice do so for safety reasons. They want to make sure that they are capable and knowledgeable about owning and using a firearm. That is not what the criminals do. And criminals will have absolutely zero loss of available inventory when they want to buy a gun because they’re doing so on the black market.

The law-abiding gun owners won’t stop buying guns either. They will just buy them outside of Tacoma. That is what we’ve seen in Seattle. Gun stores have disappeared in Seattle, but the industry is robust if you go anywhere outside of city limits, like Lynnwood or Bellevue.

This is not going to discourage crime in any way. It is just another example of government proving to us that it decides what is legitimate and what is not when it comes to what should be the free market.

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

Please follow our Community Guidelines

Texans cheer as a crowd gathers at the Texas State Capitol in Austin to celebrate the results of th...

Associated Press

Democrats won back support from five key groups that shifted toward Trump in 2024: The AP Voter Poll

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic candidates made up significant ground among key demographic groups in the 2026 midterms, according to The AP Voter Poll, reversing many of the gains President Donald Trump made with the traditional Democratic coalition in the 2024 presidential election. The AP Voter Poll, a sweeping survey of more than 100,000 voters in […]

4 minutes ago

A voter casts their ballot at Seattle City Hall. (Photo: Steph Chambers, Getty Images)...

Charlie Harger

Harger: Voters fired Republicans in D.C. and doubled down on Democrats in Olympia

Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate. As of Wednesday, they’d won 228 House seats and led in 34 more. They’d won at least 54 Senate seats.

11 minutes ago

The sun rises behind the U.S. Capitol, as seen reflected in the U.S. Capitol Reflecting Pool, on El...

Associated Press

Democrats usher in a new era with their resounding sweep of the House and the Senate

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are riding their sweep of Congress into a new era, eager to meet voter demands for change with plans to tackle high costs of living and confront President Donald Trump’s final years in the White House. In a nationwide romp, Democrats ousted Republicans from coast to coast, with many surprising places […]

35 minutes ago

spain wa train crash...

KIRO 7 News Staff

College students from Washington severely injured in Spain train collision

Two college students from Washington state attending California Polytechnic State University were severely injured in a high-speed train crash in Spain.

53 minutes ago

Democratic House candidate Bobby Pulido arrives at a polling location at the University of Texas Ri...

Associated Press

Trump-backed Republican redistricting sought a midterm edge. It didn’t work

WASHINGTON (AP) — At the urging of President Donald Trump, Republicans in eight states redrew the boundaries of dozens of congressional districts over the past year while angling for an edge that could help them hold onto a slim House majority in a tough midterm election. Ultimately, it didn’t work. Republicans lost most of the […]

1 hour ago

seattle revel restaurant close...

Regan Gallo-Fenz

Last call for Revel: Seattle diners have until Dec. 20 before doors close

Fans of Fremont's Revel restaurant have until Dec. 20 to dine one last time. The Korean-inspired restaurant has been serving Seattle customers for 16 years.

2 hours ago

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