Gun Rights Advocates Slam Proposed Ammo Tax
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Gun rights advocates are slamming a proposal for a 2 percent tax ammunition sales in Illinois.
As WBBM Newsradio's Brandis Friedman reports, HB 5167, a proposed bill sponsored by state Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) would levy a 2 percent tax on all ammunition sales and direct the revenue toward a high-crime trauma center grant fund. It would help cover medical costs for indigent victims of violent crime.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Brandis Friedman reports
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But Illinois State Rifle Association Executive Director Richard Pearson says the legislation would impact registered, law-abiding gun owners, instead of those who commit crimes with guns.
"Everything that comes out of the city of Chicago attacks the law-abiding citizens. It doesn't actually focus on the criminal," Pearson said. "The criminal still gets by with whatever he's doing – robbery or selling drugs."
Pearson says the bill is meant as an effort to control the Chicago crime rate in Chicago. But he thinks lawmakers should first examine the city's dropout rate.
"That means that 49 percent of the people who are 18 years old or thereabout now have all kinds of problems finding a job," Pearson said. "They have very little choice but to turn to a life of crime."
So far HB 5167 has been sent to Executive Committee.
