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.

FILE - A voting booth is seen at Yellowstone County's MetraPark on June 2, 2026, in Billings, Monta...

Associated Press

Nonpartisan state Supreme Court elections are being put to the test in Montana

Support for nonpartisan judicial elections is being put to the test in Montana, the latest location in a nationwide battle for bench seats that can determine the fate of consequential state laws. After a series of recent court rulings on abortion, voting and climate change displeased Republicans, GOP officials have tried to inject more partisanship […]

47 minutes ago

Associated Press

A ferocious Hurricane Simon nears Mexico with 155 mph winds and flooding fears

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico (AP) — The eye of Hurricane Simon was just off the Pacific coast of Mexico early Sunday and was expected to move inland later in the day as an extremely powerful storm. Simon has strengthened to 155 mph (250 kph), only just below the threshold for becoming a Category 5 storm, the […]

2 hours ago

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, examines the current prototype of an unmanned vehic...

Associated Press

Ukraine steps up strikes on Russia’s tech infrastructure, damaging third data center in 4 days

A Ukrainian drone attack shut down a data center run by Russian technology giant Yandex, the company said Sunday, the third strike on its facilities in four days as Kyiv widens its campaign against infrastructure deep inside Russia. The attack on the data center in the city of Vladimir, east of Moscow, caused outages across […]

2 hours ago

People gather outside a metro station on the road to King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, S...

Associated Press

Saudi Arabia extends closure of airport after 12 killed in suspected Houthi missile attack

CAIRO (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Sunday extended the closure of its main international airport as Houthi rebels threatened airstrikes across the kingdom, a day after a missile attack killed 12 people and wounded more than 300. Saturday’s strike on the Riyadh airport marked a major escalation of the war between Yemen’s Iran’s-backed Houthis and […]

4 hours ago

Georgia defensive back KJ Bolden (4) and linebacker Quintavius Johnson (3) celebrate after Johnson'...

Associated Press

Georgia is in line to replace Texas at No. 1 in AP poll; LSU likely to fall out of top 10

There will be a new No. 1 team when The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll is released Sunday. Texas’ four-week run atop the rankings is set to end after its 27-24 loss to unranked Oklahoma and No. 2 Georgia is first in line to replace the Longhorns as the top 10 in particular […]

6 hours ago

Associated Press

DOJ says it’s investigating whether White House TV pool’s coverage halt violated antitrust law

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether the decision of the White House television press pool to halt coverage of President Donald Trump last month violated antitrust law, an agency spokesperson said Saturday. Emily Covington, a spokesperson for the department, said group boycotts among business competitors might violate U.S. law. “The […]

10 hours ago

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