Taxation, Like Gun-Control Laws, Will Not Stop Gun Violence

Submitted by The Machine Gun Nest (TMGN).

ABC News, your bias is showing. 

If it wasn’t already clear to everyone with common sense, the Corporate Media is extremely biased towards the “anti-gun” side of the Firearms debate. They’ve really started to show their bias in their new piece titled “After a year of record gun sales, advocates mull over how a new tax could save lives.”

This misleading piece is part of a series titled “rethinking gun-violence.”

In the piece, ABC news suggests that the tax could “claw back revenue from industry profits.” Unfortunately, the idea that raising taxes on firearms could have any effect at all on gun violence is silly at best, and at worst, downright ignorant. 

Let me first start by saying that Gun owners are not “pro-gun violence.” If anything, Gun owners are realists, and they’re people that know the patchwork system of gun laws does very little to stop ill intent. Some reasonable methods suggested to lower gun violence are: allow people to acquire a concealed carry permit for self-defense and stand-your-ground laws. It’s common sense that criminals look for easy targets. If criminals know that the likelihood of their target having a firearm is low, they’re more likely to act.

But let’s break down why a tax on firearms stopping gun violence is a corporate media fantasy. 

First off, the people most likely to need a firearm for self-defense typically fall into the category of the middle class, or working poor. People who are in the middle class and work for a living often do not have access to things like bodyguards or private security. Their own defense is their responsibility. They often use public transportation, bike, or walk to and from places. They may not live in the nicest neighborhoods and may have to deal with gang activity or crime. These same people work hard for their money, and the last thing they need is a tax on the lifesaving defense tool that they may need one day walking home from work. 

Just look at the current Supreme Court case NYSRPA v. Bruen. 

In NYSRPA v. BRUEN, an Amicus Brief was filed by a coalition of public defenders to invalidate New York’s current ban on concealed carry. Why? Because people in rough neighborhoods carry firearms for self-defense and are denied their 2nd amendment right. The idea that making people pay more money to exercise a right will also somehow affect the level of violence in these same communities is not based in reality. 

It’s also important to note that New York City has one of the largest wealth gaps in the country. Could it be that the idea of armed citizens scares the wealthy political elite? New York has certainly argued in court that it would rather people rely on the police to solve life-threatening situations instead of citizens having the right or means to defend themselves. 

The thing that the corporate media refuses to acknowledge is that taxes in general often hurt the poorest, while the richest simply avoid or move. This is why the left wingers in the US continue to push expensive social programs while proclaiming that the tax that pays for social programs will only be paid by the richest people in the country. Meanwhile, the middle class and the working poor usually get handed the bill when reality hits. This is the same with gun control and taxes on firearms. As much as the gun-control lobby refuses to admit it, they want the taxes as a prohibitory workaround for not passing legislation. Sort of like saying, “fine, you can have your guns, but we’re going to make them artificially expensive through unconstitutional taxation.” 

This taxation only hurts the poorest, and those same people happen to be most in need of a firearm for self-defense. 

Criminals will always find a way to a firearm, whether that’s getting their friend to buy one and report it stolen as a straw purchase, making a firearm themselves from an 80% kit, or even 3D printing. The idea that gun violence can be legislated or taxed away is a fantasy. The idea that currently, New York and other anti-gun states expect people living in rough areas not to have the means to defend themselves is just as crazy. We should be empowering law-abiding citizens to protect themselves, not punishing them!

This is why it’s important for gun owners to get out there and change minds. It’s only through the process of debate, conversation, and experience will we win over people to our side and repeal these ridiculous laws and taxes. If going by the laws of anti-gun states is any indication, The State is perfectly fine with leaving you to die at the hands of criminals rather than giving you the freedom to defend yourself. 

This proposed idea of taxes on firearms ultimately is nothing new. As gun control continues to be an unpopular issue with most of the population, the anti-gun lobby will find new ways to separate Americans from their 2nd Amendment right. Whether it’s ATF regulation, Taxes, or declaring gun violence a “public health crisis,” gun owners should be confident that the law and common sense are on their side.