Tacoma WA To Enact New Guns and Ammo Tax

Anti Second Amendment Tacoma City Council members are set to enact a new tax on both ammunition and firearms according to an article posted by The News Tribute.

The new tax would levy a two cents per round tax on rounds measuring .22 caliber or smaller, and a five cent tax on larger rounds - but the bill wouldn’t stop there. It would also impose a $25 fee on every firearm sold through a dealer in the city as well.

While the vote on the tax was initially intended to be held on October 29th, it was delayed last minute to “keep the gang together” according to Council member Ryan Mello. As far as what this exactly means is unclear, and requests by Firearms News for further clarification were not answered at the time of this article.

The vote will now be held on November 12th, and the issue might not have come to light if not for posts by Tacoma-based gunmaker, Aero Precision.

Aero posted the following on their Facebook page.

“Well friends, today, the Tacoma City Council will convene to place their votes regarding the "Ammo and Firearms Tax" ordinance (ORD28624). This tax, if enacted, would require 25 dollars to be collected on the sale of all firearms and a .02 to .05 cent tax on the sale of all ammunition within city limits. The proposed ordinance will dramatically impact most, if not all gun shops within the city limits, potentially putting them out of business. With no shops conducting business, there will be no revenue to fund the suggested gun violence programs that have yet to be defined. Aero Precision stands firm against any amendments to this ordinance on our behalf and will stand alongside its valued dealers against this unnecessary tax that the Tacoma City Council has openly admitted will do nothing.

We ask that you join us during the City Council meeting tonight and exercise your 1st Amendment right to protect the 2nd Amendment. Before anyone tells us to pick up and move, a real possibility, we have called Tacoma home for the last 25 years. We believe the right thing to do is fight these measures as long as possible in an attempt to impede the spread of similar measures elsewhere. Aero Precision employees will be in attendance during the comment period sharing our opinions, and we hope to see you there alongside us.

The Tacoma City Council meeting will be held at 5:00 pm in the Tacoma Municipal Building, 747 Market Street, First Floor, Tacoma WA. Please arrive early so that you can register to share your comments and concerns.”

Additionally, a few gun Youtubers also brought the issue to light, like NC-based, Kotaboy32.

As with the FB post above, Firearm News encourages Tacoma residents to show up for the council meeting and make their voices heard. This is yet another example of spineless government officials attempting to make firearms and ammunition unaffordable to the everyman. And sadly, those who seek to whittle away at the Second Amendment will do so tirelessly and if not met with resistance will succeed.

Firearms News will continue to monitor this situation and keep readers posted on this, and any anti-gun legislation that may pop up in the future.