Posted on 03/29/2002 2:03:40 PM PST by gc4nra
Political Editor Randy Shandobil for KTVU Channel 2 News
Target practice could soon get a lot more expensive. Next week a Bay Area state senator will formally propose a five-cent-a-bullet sales tax. Not five percent, but a nickel for each and every round.
Shoot a small caliber weapon, such as a .22? That more than doubles the price of your ammo.
Sen. Don Perata/(D) Oakland : "I will be attacked by those who hate gun control. I know that. As soon as this airs, I am going to start getting nasty phone calls and email."
Senator Don Perata is a gun control crusader. But he says his tax idea is not meant to deter gun use, but rather to raise money to save California's hospital trauma centers, some of which are going under.
"Bullets cause injuries that are expensive to treat and generally speaking, the public is footing the bill."
Perata wants the legislature to put the tax idea on the November ballot.
Peter Buxtun/NRA Member: "This idea is stupidity."
National Rifle Association member Peter Buxtun says previous gun control measures by Senator Perata put many gun dealers out of business, and he says a nickel a bullet tax would just lead to ammo smuggling. Buxtun: "People would go to Oregon, they would go to Nevada and they would load up the trunks of their car or their whole van and bring tons of ammunition in."
At the Jackson Arms Shooting Range in South San Francisco today, most customers did not want to talk on camera... but everyone said the tax would be unfair. They don't shoot people, they shoot targets.
Sen. Perata: "I am sorry. You cannot screen them out. The same way that someone with a perfect driving record is going to be upset that they pay an added cost for emergency care."
Democrats control both the state senate and the state assembly, so Senator Perata is confident a majority of lawmakers will support the tax. But that doesn't mean it will qualify for the November ballot.
For a ballot measure to qualify, two thirds of the legislature has to say yes, not a simple majority.
Buxtun: "We'll absolutely fight this as hard as we can."
If it does qualify, it could become a hot button issue in the Governor's race. Aides to Republican Bill Simon, who earns an A rating from the NRA, say he would be against it. Governor Davis is taking no position yet. He has signed many gun control bills, but says he's against tax hikes.
-- Political Editor Randy Shandobil, KTVU Channel 2 News
© 2002 KTVU-TV
Maybe he should consider, instead, a "Wetback Tax", and tax the illegals who have jammed California's hospital emergency rooms and do not pay. Because they are illegals, they have a hard time getting health insurance. When they so much as have a cold, they use emergency rooms because the ER cannot turn them away.
If that was true, why is it that ammoman.com can't ship to Alaska, New Jersey and Hawaii? It seems that laws in those states do not violate the interstate commerce laws. Or possibly the Ashcroft Justice Department doesn't consider such violations worth pursuing.
Believe me it definitely can happen in California.
Of course under the new classification, old .50s will need to be registered. If you don't, they will catch you through sales records (anyone who thinks the BATF is not doing this already, I have a bridge to sell you) and you will get a mandatory minimum federal prison term, no plea bargaining, no parole.
BLOAT, cache, and take names!
The true purpose is twofold: to eventually price ammunition out of existance, and make felons out of anyone who evades the law.
The bill is AB2222. Read about it here. .50 cal.ban
Many thanks to the Liberty Belles for the link!
Obviously, that's why they call it smuggling!(sorry TM, I couldn't resist)
Of course, the down side is retrieving it!
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