Connecticut Rep. Pushing Bill to Literally Price People Out of 2nd Amend. Rights. 50% Tax on Any Civilian Buying Ammunition
Top shelf rifles can cost thousands of dollars. Usually equipped with the latest accessories and advanced optics, these firearms are subject to relentless assaults and vilification from the left.
Now, lawmakers in one state may have found a way to turn modern firearms into much less effective tools without even touching the guns themselves.
As Connecticut state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest proudly announced in a video posted to her Twitter on Monday, her proposed tax would raise the price of ammunition in the state by 50 percent for everyone except military personnel and police.
I’ve introduced HB 5700, a 50% tax increase on ammunition. It doesn’t apply to military or law enforcement. I’m hearing push back about the need to protect one’s home… but how much ammunition does someone really need to do that? #gunsense #enough pic.twitter.com/NZjkWBrpjC
— Jillian Gilchrest (@Jilchrest) February 4, 2019
The state lawmaker argues the increase would function in the same way that high cigarette taxes saw a “reduction in use” of the targeted commodity.
The bill’s wording, only two lines long and deceptively simple, works to directly increase the cost of ammunition through the use of a 50 percent tax.
But making ammunition more expensive likely won’t do anything but keep the poorest from becoming adequately trained, potentially leaving them defenseless in a life-and-death situation. As any firearm enthusiast knows, confident and safe use of guns is correlated to time spent behind the trigger.
But that costs money.
A day at the gun range can easily run shooters over $100 in ammunition alone, not counting range fees, targets, cleaning supplies and transportation. For an already expensive hobby, this law could push newcomers in a disastrous direction — away from valuable training time with their gun.
Those unfamiliar with the basic tenants of firearm safety and the mechanics of their own gun are inherently more at risk (to others and themselves) than those with experience.
As Americans have unfortunately discovered, mass shootings can be carried out by people at any economic level. The Route 91 Harvest Festival shooter had a net worth of over $2,000,000, the Independent reported. He would have been able to buy out an entire ammunition store, high taxes or not.
The truly disastrous effect of this bill is who it leaves defenseless.
A single mother in a bad neighborhood may not be able to afford an additional 50 percent tax on the tools needed to keep her family safe.
The elderly are often considered easy targets for crime because of their age. Many of them are on a fixed monthly income, and this bill would also hurt their ability to buy what’s needed to defend themselves.
As the Bureau of Justice Statistics confirmed in 2014, households at or below the poverty line are more than twice as likely to become victims of violent crime. An increase in ammunition costs would disproportionately harm those at this level.
Criminals, on the other hand, simply take what they can’t afford.
For many law-abiding citizens, Gilchrest’s bill ensures they won’t be able to fight back when those bad elements come knocking.
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