Politicians using tax policy to influence the public’s behavior are as old as governments themselves. What is not so common is for these leaders to use the power of the purse to impede the free exercise of a constitutional right.
New York lawmakers seek to do just that. A proposed measure would impose an indefensible 11% excise tax on firearms, firearms components, and ammunition sold in the Empire State.
Proposal would add a significant burden on lawful gun owners
The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) warned that the Empire State wants to squeeze lawful gun ownership out of existence.
“If they cannot outright confiscate your firearms, they will make sure you cannot afford to buy or shoot them,” the news release declared. “Former Chief Justice John Marshall once famously proclaimed that ‘the power to tax is the power to destroy.’”
The NRA-ILA missive added that leaders in Albany know this to be true, “and this appears to be the motivation behind their latest push.”
Collected funds would undoubtedly be used in anti-2A campaigns
The New York State Firearms Association ripped the state’s leadership for its actions. “The bill doesn’t just attack the Second Amendment. It financially punishes anyone who exercises their Second Amendment rights in an attempt to make it that much harder for us to buy guns!”
Even tyrants attempt to justify their misdeeds, and Albany is certainly no exception. Lawmakers tried to placate the sporting public by funneling the funds into the newly created “Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Fund.”
That’s as if the right to keep and bear arms is akin to drinking, smoking, and gambling. Gun owners are not committing illegal or immoral acts, and high taxes intended to suppress the public’s access to firearms are simply wrong.
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