“The power to tax is the power to destroy.” These famous words were spoken by Chief Justice John Marshall in 1819 in a landmark Supreme Court case concerning government power.
Modern lawmakers know this dictum all too well, and in California, the tax system has been weaponized against gun owners. The state imposed a punitive 11% excise tax on firearms and ammunition in its quest to further suppress gun ownership.
Now comes the inevitable challenge, which is the case of Poway Weapons & Gear v. Gonzalez. This week, the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) filed a motion requesting that the California Supreme Court grant summary judgment.
Constitutional rights are not meant to be taxed out of existence
The filing was announced in a news release by SAF Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack.
“The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that conduct protected by a constitutional right cannot, for any reason, be singled out for special taxation,” Sack said. “The right to keep and bear arms guaranteed by the Second Amendment is meaningless if the government has the power to prevent the acquisition of arms and ammunition in the first place.”
An 11% tax today could easily be something much more egregious tomorrow
Knowing California officials will argue that 11% is not a significant burden, Sack shot down this position. “The present tax rate itself is immaterial; the authority to tax a fundamental right at 11% is the authority to tax it at 150%.
Justice Marshall was right.
The news release noted that, if California’s gun control regime successfully fends off this challenge, other anti-Second Amendment states will surely follow its lead.
Unquestionably, the state uses taxes to discourage activities such as smoking. To lump a fundamental constitutional right in with an unhealthy practice that should be avoided is an injustice to every law-abiding California citizen.
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