Gun Control by Government Fees and Taxes — New Jersey Plan

This story is based on an article by Larry Keene of the NSSF

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has a new plan to deny the Second Amendment rights of NJ citizens — hit them in their pocketbooks, and hit them hard. Using the COVID-19 Pandemic as a pretext, Gov. Murphy, a Democrat, is calling for a massive increase in fees, taxes, and surcharges on gun owners:

1. Raise cost of Handgun Purchase Permit from $2 to $50 — 2400% increase.
2. Raise cost of Firearm ID Card from $5 to $100 — 1900% increase.
3. Raise cost of Handgun Carry Permit from $50 to $400 — 700% increase.
4. Raise fee for firearms manufacturer from $150 to $1500 — 900% increase.
5. Raise fee for firearms Retail Dealer License from $50 to $500 — 900% increase.

This shows how government taxes and fees can be aggressively used to restrict gun ownership. In California, another blue state run by a corrupt Democratic governor who likes to rule by Executive Order, we have myriad gun-related fees and taxes, and now must pay for a license in order to purchase ammo. This is how Democrats intend to use state taxing powers to defeat the Second Amendment.

Gun Control by Tax in New Jersey

Commentary by Larry Keene, NSSF
Democratic New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is… proposing “stronger gun control” in the Garden State. This time, he’s using the COVID-19 pandemic to raise taxes on law-abiding gun owners and those wishing to exercise their Second Amendment rights. Now it will be up to the state legislature to approve or reject his new antigun proposals. New Jersey residents shouldn’t hold their breath as antigun Democrats control both chambers by wide margins.

More gun control has been a pillar for Gov. Murphy since he took office in 2018. In his first two years in office, he pushed for and signed into law 10 more-stringent gun control laws in a state already known for having some of the strictest gun laws in the country. In 2020, the spreading Coronavirus pandemic gave him an opportunity to do even more[.]

Five Million New Gun Owners in the USA in 2020
Nearly 5 million Americans … purchased a firearm for the first time this year. The reasons were all around us. Reports of local law enforcement becoming stretched thin, criminals being released from jails and quickly committing violent crimes again, and now more recently violent riots and looting in cities and cries of “defund the police” have increased.

Gov. Murphy, who now wants to levy more fees and taxes to close the COVID budget gaps, actively worked to keep gun buyers out of stores. He shut down firearm retailers and related businesses, deeming them “non-essential” at a time when they were most essential. He faced immediate backlash and lawsuits, leading him to backtrack and allow retailers to open again. Gov. Murphy tried explaining his reasoning, stating “I wasn’t thinking about the Bill of Rights”.

Raising Taxes as Means for More Gun Control
New Jersey is already known as a high-taxed blue state operating in the red. Now, to address next year’s budget shortfall and seeing an opportunity to further squelch the Second Amendment, Gov. Murphy proposed massive taxes and fees on firearms and ammunition[.]

Gov. Murphy’s proposed antigun increases include raising the handgun purchasing permit fee 2400 percent from $2 to $50; the cost of a firearm ID card by 1900 percent from $5 to $100; the price of a handgun carry permit 700 percent from $50 to $400; the fee for a gun retail dealer license by 900 percent from $50 to $500; and the fee for a firearm manufacturer 900 percent from $150 to $1,500. There are, or course, additional fee increases as well.

Anti-Gun Birds of a Feather
Gov. Murphy isn’t alone in using the pandemic to infringe on the constitutional rights of lawful Americans. Gov. Murphy’s northern neighbor, New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, behaved similarly as did New Mexico Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. These three governors have something else in common. They all forced gun stores to close during the pandemic despite the Department of Homeland Security saying gun stores are essential business.