DockRat
10-12-2012, 05:53 AM
Look Out! Here Comes A New Second Amendment Tax
Does it ever amaze you what bureaucrats do and what they can come up with to steal money from your wallet through legislation? The bureaucrats in Cook County are looking to propose a “violence tax” on the sale of all guns and ammunition that are sold in the county where Chicago is located.
Kurt Summers, Preckwinkle’s chief of staff, said on Monday, “If we were to pursue a tax on something like guns and ammo, clearly that wouldn’t be popular with the [gun lobby] out there, and it may not generate $50 million, but … it is consistent with our commitment to pursuing violence reduction in the city and in the county.”
“It impacts law enforcement, both at the city and the county [levels]. It impacts the courtrooms, the public defender and state’s attorney that are in there, the judges that are in there, the clerk of the court that has to sit there, the sheriff’s deputies that are in that courtroom and it impacts the jail — the folks that are sitting there at $143 a day,” he said.
The chief of staff said, “Now on top of that, if a person is shot and wounded, they end up more than likely in a Level 1 trauma Center like Stroger Hospital.”
The Chicago Sun Times reports,
Such a tax alone wouldn’t close a $115 million budget gap in 2013, but it could at least funnel money into the county’s $3 billion operation — where roughly two-thirds of the budget pays for both the county’s public health clinics and two hospitals along with the criminal justice system that includes the courts and jail.
The idea is to curb the number of guns in circulation, he said, citing a report issued last summer showing that nearly one-third of the guns recovered on Chicago’s streets were purchased in suburban gun shops. Other statistics are more dire: Murders in Chicago are up 25 percent this year, according to recent police statistics, and the county jail is filling up — with 9,000-plus inmates, nearing the 10,155 capacity.
Along with the tragic human toll, gun violence takes a toll on government coffers.
This is the real issue. Chicago has some of the most restrictive laws on guns and yet remains one of the most dangerous cities in America for gun violence. In fact, for a resident in Chicago, the city demands that they pay a $100 fee every three years and register every firearm they own as a cost of $15 per gun.
Maybe they should try a different approach and quit stepping on the rights of the citizens of Cook County and make it easier for them to get their own weapons and ammunition and train with them so they can start eliminating the threat they are faced with by criminals. Should they end up killing the criminals who seek to assault them, then that would help out the government as well, since the only thing necessary is to make sure that the action was justifiable and then bury the perpetrator.
Todd Vandermyde, a National Rifle Association lobbyist, said “This is just another example of the blame game — Chicago and Cook County has a gun violence problem, Chicago’s got a high high school drop-out rate, they’ve got a drug problem, they’ve got a gang problem, but they want to make legal gun owners, guys like me, the scapegoat.”
Vandermyde claims this is nothing more than an unfair tax on a constitutional right. He’s exactly correct.
“It is another way to enact a Jim Crow law and keep people from exercising their constitutional right,” he said.
“All you’re doing is jacking up the price of guns and ammunition — for someone who can least afford it,” he continued. “The problem with something like this is that you’re hurting people who don’t have the ability to get out of Cook County. So if you have someone in Englewood, they have to venture out to DuPage County, to Will County? I don’t think so.”
The real issue has nothing to do with stopping violence or keeping guns out of criminals’ hands and everything to do with well over a $100 million deficit the county faces. Whenever government comes out with a new tax, it usually has nothing to do with real security and safety and everything to do with them failing to be able to control their spending sprees and leave the people’s God given rights alone.
Read more: http://freedomoutpos.../#ixzz28zCV6K1k
Does it ever amaze you what bureaucrats do and what they can come up with to steal money from your wallet through legislation? The bureaucrats in Cook County are looking to propose a “violence tax” on the sale of all guns and ammunition that are sold in the county where Chicago is located.
Kurt Summers, Preckwinkle’s chief of staff, said on Monday, “If we were to pursue a tax on something like guns and ammo, clearly that wouldn’t be popular with the [gun lobby] out there, and it may not generate $50 million, but … it is consistent with our commitment to pursuing violence reduction in the city and in the county.”
“It impacts law enforcement, both at the city and the county [levels]. It impacts the courtrooms, the public defender and state’s attorney that are in there, the judges that are in there, the clerk of the court that has to sit there, the sheriff’s deputies that are in that courtroom and it impacts the jail — the folks that are sitting there at $143 a day,” he said.
The chief of staff said, “Now on top of that, if a person is shot and wounded, they end up more than likely in a Level 1 trauma Center like Stroger Hospital.”
The Chicago Sun Times reports,
Such a tax alone wouldn’t close a $115 million budget gap in 2013, but it could at least funnel money into the county’s $3 billion operation — where roughly two-thirds of the budget pays for both the county’s public health clinics and two hospitals along with the criminal justice system that includes the courts and jail.
The idea is to curb the number of guns in circulation, he said, citing a report issued last summer showing that nearly one-third of the guns recovered on Chicago’s streets were purchased in suburban gun shops. Other statistics are more dire: Murders in Chicago are up 25 percent this year, according to recent police statistics, and the county jail is filling up — with 9,000-plus inmates, nearing the 10,155 capacity.
Along with the tragic human toll, gun violence takes a toll on government coffers.
This is the real issue. Chicago has some of the most restrictive laws on guns and yet remains one of the most dangerous cities in America for gun violence. In fact, for a resident in Chicago, the city demands that they pay a $100 fee every three years and register every firearm they own as a cost of $15 per gun.
Maybe they should try a different approach and quit stepping on the rights of the citizens of Cook County and make it easier for them to get their own weapons and ammunition and train with them so they can start eliminating the threat they are faced with by criminals. Should they end up killing the criminals who seek to assault them, then that would help out the government as well, since the only thing necessary is to make sure that the action was justifiable and then bury the perpetrator.
Todd Vandermyde, a National Rifle Association lobbyist, said “This is just another example of the blame game — Chicago and Cook County has a gun violence problem, Chicago’s got a high high school drop-out rate, they’ve got a drug problem, they’ve got a gang problem, but they want to make legal gun owners, guys like me, the scapegoat.”
Vandermyde claims this is nothing more than an unfair tax on a constitutional right. He’s exactly correct.
“It is another way to enact a Jim Crow law and keep people from exercising their constitutional right,” he said.
“All you’re doing is jacking up the price of guns and ammunition — for someone who can least afford it,” he continued. “The problem with something like this is that you’re hurting people who don’t have the ability to get out of Cook County. So if you have someone in Englewood, they have to venture out to DuPage County, to Will County? I don’t think so.”
The real issue has nothing to do with stopping violence or keeping guns out of criminals’ hands and everything to do with well over a $100 million deficit the county faces. Whenever government comes out with a new tax, it usually has nothing to do with real security and safety and everything to do with them failing to be able to control their spending sprees and leave the people’s God given rights alone.
Read more: http://freedomoutpos.../#ixzz28zCV6K1k