(ProsperNews.net) – Democrats in Washington have proposed additional taxes on ammunition. Describing gun use as a “privilege,” fifteen Democrats introduced House Bill 2238 to the state legislature, arguing it would reduce gun violence. The bill will impose a sales tax and a usage tax on ammunition.
The proposal states, “A use tax is levied on every person in this state for the privilege of using ammunition as a consumer at the rate of percent of the selling price.” It defines ammunition as “projectiles with their fuses, propelling charges, or primers designed to be fired from firearms” and clarifies that it will apply to all pistols, revolvers, shotguns, and “any rifle.”
The National Rifle Association says it plans to oppose the law, which it described as unconstitutional. Aoibheann Cline, Washington state director, called the proposal “absurd,” while Republican State Rep. Jim Walsh said it was poorly conceived and “sloppily drafted.” Walsh added that the “real kicker” is describing ammunition as a “privilege.”
Gun rights activists have discussed the use of the word “privilege” and pointed out that the right to bear arms, guaranteed by the Second Amendment, includes the right to ammunition, or the Second Amendment is rendered meaningless. Conservative radio host Jason Rantz argued that the new proposals are another example of Democrat determination to deprive law-abiding Washington gun owners of their fundamental rights and their ability to protect themselves from the criminals emboldened by Democrat policies.
“Instead of a flat-out ban against guns, they’ve hoped to reclassify ammunition as a privilege by severely restricting how much of it a gun owner can use at a time,” Rantz said, before adding that there is little point in bearing arms if the arms are not equipped with ammunition.
Democrat Rep. Liz Berry, however, is unrepentant. She said gun violence is one of Washington’s most “persistent” health and safety threats and noted that a person is killed by a gun every 14 hours, and that the majority of suicides are committed with firearms.
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