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

Tacoma homicide car...

KIRO 7 News Staff

Death of person hit by car in Tacoma now a homicide investigation

The death of a man who was hit by a car in Tacoma earlier this week is now being investigated as a homicide.

9 minutes ago

Associated Press

A seaplane carrying 11 crashes into an island north of Seattle and all aboard are rescued

SEATTLE (AP) — A seaplane carrying 11 people crashed near an island tourist destination north of Seattle and caught on fire, prompting a quick, successful rescue by multiple agencies via boat and air to get injured passengers and the pilot to hospitals. Videos posted on social media show the aircraft banking to one side as […]

21 minutes ago

Jimothy (1) seattle raccoon ballard...

Charlie Harger

Harger: We find something pure and we love it so hard we ruin it. Jimothy needs an exit strategy

Jimothy is a sensation. One week ago, we first brought you the story of this goofy raccoon on our show. Every day since, the Jimothy content has multiplied.

53 minutes ago

President Donald Trump speaks during an event to honor the 2025 World Series champions Los Angeles ...

Associated Press

The Latest: Trump imposes double-digit tariffs on dozens of countries

President Donald Trump is going ahead with new double-digit tariffs on dozens of U.S. trading partners just as the clock runs out Friday on stopgap levies he imposed after a stinging defeat at the Supreme Court. Also, a series of explosions sounded near a military base hosting U.S. forces in northern Iraq and sirens rang […]

1 hour ago

bite of seattle...

Paul Holden

Bite of Seattle is back as Seattle summer keeps rolling — plus more fun events this weekend

We are heading into peak summer, and with the first heatwave of the season behind us, it will be a perfect weekend to get out and about!

1 hour ago

oregon shark man...

Jack Bilyeu, KIRO 7 News

WDFW: Oregon man illegally caught, wrestled sharks in Pierce County

An Oregon man faces 10 counts after allegedly catching and wrestling legally protected sharks in Pierce County.

1 hour ago

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