No, it’s not. And we both know why. If the price of gun ownership is such that the public safety is compromised, such as it was a few weeks ago, who should pay for the increases in protection we may end up needing? The public or the people who own the guns? If the NRA’s plan to put armed guards in schools, should the public pay for that, or would it be fair to offset that cost with fees when purchasing a gun?
I quickly Goggled this and hit on a Violence Tax. Wonder what the court will say about this?
FWIW, the $200 tax on Title II weapons was originally intended to be a prohibitive tax, so there is at least some precedence for prohibitive taxes on firearms.
I’ve seen a poster propose a $1 per round tax. .40 S&W costs around .35-.50 per round.
Would you like to pay a property tax that’s double to triple the value of your home?
It’s not a tax, it’s an attempt to make gun ownership beyond feasible. And you know not a penny would go to the schools.
Just like car registration is supposed to help keep the roads under repair.
Guarantee the State Legislature won’t grab the money for something else or cut funding by the same amount?
The Lottery(California) was sold as helping the schools and that’s what happened.
I’m not trying to be an ass, but I have seen some really ridiculous recommendations for “security upgrades” lately. In particular are security cameras. As if the security cameras at Columbine did anything at all except immortalize their exploits. I’ve also seen things like school safety kits that are nothing more than a piece of kevlar, a half dozen Wedgits and a couple zip ties, all for the low price of a few thousand dollars.
I would support the tax if it was used for the funding of additional school security personnel, preferably armed, and preferably sworn officers. Many school districts across the country have their own police force, or have a combination of security and local police securing their schools. If the tax was used to establish such agencies and programs across the country, and to upgrade the existing ones, then yes. I would personally support a 10-15% tax on ammunition and/or firearms.
The Sandy Hook shooter blasted his way into a secured building. A gate lock would be no issue for a firearm, and the fence itself can be easily cut. The security fence also does not prevent current students from entering and shooting up the place.
Lots of rabbit, coyote, and other small pests around farms and ranches. The AR can be a very accurate platform. And it comes in other calibers like the 6.8 SPC popular with wild boar and deer hunters here. Quick, accurate follow up shots can be important for an angry, wounded boar.
The bigger philosophical issue is why are “hunting” weapons more acceptible than other types of guns? This is a serious question - I can understand arguments of outright bans or bans on functional features, but don’t get “hunting” exclusion. Or is it just a play to avoid the ire of a large group of law-abiding, voting, sportsmen?
None of that is any different from paying for elections. If states have to upgrade polling machines because the fiasco in Florida in 2000, who should pay for this-- the general public or the people who vote?
Loach has identified himself as a police officer in many previous threads on this board (some quite recent). If you had educated yourself, you would have known that.
But more importantly, the post he made that you replied to with your swill was pretty neutrally worded. He made a factual statement that the AR-15 price wasn’t rising because of the shooting (which is true, it’s the talk of bans which has send demand soaring), followed by an incorrect statement which only shows he’s not obsessively following the news. Believe it or not, not everyone.does.
Nothing he said in that post came even close to meriting the verbal crap you dumped on him. But then, you thought he was a mere “gun nut,” and therefore undeserving of basic courtesy. And so you went and made an ass of yourself.
Maybe you should make fewer ASSumptions about fellow Dopers in the future?
Ar-15s are extremely popular for hunting coyotes and other non-game varmints. They are light, accurate and the .223 round is adequate for those purposes. It is not recommended for deer. Not enough stopping power. Do a Google search for Coyote AR 15.