$100 gun tax proposed...

[Kang Colby]

151. It’s a good bill…I support it.

I actually have mixed emotions about this proposal. Allow me to explain what I mean.

This is nothing more than a gun control publicity stunt, meant solely to establish gun control bona fides for its sponsor. That’s it. This bill, like all other gun control bills will never see a committee vote. It will never leave committee and will rest peacefully in a desk drawer somewhere on the Hill. No one will formally discuss or debate the merits of this proposal in any congressional committee. That’s the reality of it. I realize this fact; most of you folks understand how this works.

But a lot of folks don’t realize this. The GOA & NRA will trumpet bills like this using social media and direct mailers. State based 2A organizations well talk about the bills during their chapter meetings. Money will flow into the NRA/Pro-2A coffers. When nothing materializes the national 2A orgs will celebrate this as another victory…all thanks to the support of ordinary folks like you. With each of these bills, we are able to bring in more and more money. With more money we can get more done; while making it all the more likely we will be able to defeat any potential legitimate gun control proposal in the future. Today’s “$100 gun tax” bill is funding for tomorrow’s constitutional carry state. It provides resources for more sophisticated marketing efforts that allow us to grow the base. We’ve been able to do a lot over the last few years and have made significant progress in expanding our reach thanks to monetary inflows. Bills like this indirectly provide funding for groups like SAF to file and support lawsuits against gun control. We were able to get suppressors in Minnesota, spent shell casing laws repealed in Maryland, constitutional carry in Maine and Kansas, some campus carry in Texas, simplified permitting in Michigan, reduced permit costs in Mississippi, repeal of the 48 hour waiting period in Wisconsin, and expansion of carry rights in states across the country. For that, I have to thank the gun controllers because without their absolutism, a lot of what we do just would not be possible due to lack of funding.

Any gun control proposal, regardless of its merits is a good thing for national 2A. So, in that regard I love bills like this. They amount to a huge fundraising effort for 2A. What’s not to love? Well, there is a major downside…

The message that many folks around the country hear when bills like this are proposed, is “the only thing standing between you and a $100 firearms tax is the Republican Party.” They remember that and they will be at the polls 100% of the time. As a lifelong Democrat, I think its seriously time we push gun control support as far away from the party as possible.

KC