Seattle Gun and Ammo Tax Challenged by Firearms Groups
Seattle recently passed a law imposing special taxes on the sale of guns and ammunition. Labeled a “gun violence” tax, the Seattle ordinance is designed to discourage firearms use and, presumably, drive gun and ammo vendors out of the city. City Council President Tim Burgess, author of the controversial Seattle ordinance, likened the gun/ammo levy to “sin taxes” on alcohol and tobacco: “We’ve been working on this for several years. We tax cigarettes and alcohol and even wood-burning stoves for public health purposes. Why not guns and ammunition?”
Opponents of the new law have taken the city to court. The NRA, Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), NSSF and other organizations have challenged the so-called “gun violence tax” recently passed by the Seattle City Council. A motion for summary judgment has been filed citing Washington State’s long-standing preemption statute which “fully occupies and preempts the entire field of firearms regulation within the boundaries of the state.”
Gun group lawyers argued that the city “is well aware of this restriction on its legislative power” because Seattle’s most recent attempt to regulate firearms was emphatically struck down by the Court of Appeals in the case of Chan vs. Seattle. (That lawsuit derailed an attempt by the city under former Mayors Greg Nickels and Mike McGinn to ban guns in city park facilities.)
“Seattle is trying to be too clever by half,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb. “This so-called ‘gun violence tax’ clearly seeks to limit access to firearms and ammunition by imposing what amounts to a regulatory fee on the sale of all firearms and ammunition within City limits. The city can’t do that, and we’re confident the court will tell them so. In the final analysis, this is an attempt to skate around, and thus erode, our state’s model preemption law. That cannot be allowed to stand. The City of Seattle is not an entity unto itself, but still part of Washington State, and therefore the city has to abide by the same laws we all follow.”
Public domain Seattle photo by Rattlhed.
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Tags: Alan Gottlieb, Ammo Tax, Court Case, Gun Tax, NRA, NSSF, Preemption, SAF, Seattle
You cannot tax a persons rights that are in the Bill of Rights.
Smoking, driving a car are not in the Bill of Rights and then therefore can be taxed as they are manufactured goods.
The has already been decided by the Supreme Court that it is not the police departments job to protect citizens, it is your job to protect yourself. So by taxing ammo and guns they taxing your rights to protect yourself, something they are not responsible for.
I am pretty sure that Poll Taxes, and other taxes on rights that are reserved to the people are illegal. This should, theoretically, be a slam dunk in court, but you know how that goes when the second amendment is concerned.
Again the law abiding citizen pays for the acts of criminals and crazies. Regardless of the fact it has nothing to do with them.
All these anti gun measures do not have anything to do with criminality it’s just a part of a broader agenda…