With regards to Connecticut legislative proposals that affect gun rights in one way or another, there has been a lot of focus over the emergence of HB5700 (AN ACT INCREASING THE RATE OF THE SALES AND USE TAXES ON AMMUNITION).
The introduction of this proposal is a direct slap in the face to law-abiding gun owners that live by the laws of our society and who simply want to shoot for sport, hunt or maintain firearms and proper training for self-defense purposes.
- HB5700 will make it hard for people already struggling in our economy to own and train properly
- HB5700 would be taxing at an unfair rate
- HB5700 would be on par with consideration towards a sin tax
- Guns and ammo are ALREADY subject to an additional 11% tax besides the CT sales tax
- A 50% AMMO TAX is a 100% SPITE TAX!
Make no mistake, HB5700 is being presented to you by anti-gun politicians that are making claims that your constitutionally affirmed 2nd Amendment right is somehow a PUBLIC HEALTH THREAT!
However:
Watch Out for the Distraction
Given that this bill has caught the attention of numerous media outlets across the country, it is the duty of CCDL to point out:
- In the past, bills that typically gain the outrage of gun owners such as HB5700 are often used to distract from other pieces of legislation that will also potentially harm gun owners.
- Right now, the bill has been referred to the Joint Committee on Finance, Revenue and Bonding. It has not yet moved out of committee.
- The bill has only one co-sponsor at this point.
- Currently there are over 70 other firearms related bills that have been introduced in the 2019 legislative session. Some of these bills are good, some are very bad. The good ones will have a harder time succeeding given the current political climate in Connecticut.
- A number of these bills have gained more traction than the “Ammo Tax Bill”. This is key for gun owners to understand:
Among other things, there are a multitude of bills that would penalize law-abiding gun owners for how you store your firearms, for how you carry firearms, for where you carry your firearms and numerous ways to prohibit more individuals from carrying or owning firearms altogether. Do not focus on one bill and ignore all the others.
The complete list of bills that CCDL is tracking (including hunting bills) can be found here.
As bills move from committee to committee, we will continue to monitor and inform members throughout this legislative session.
We are asking our members to monitor their emails, our website and social media for current updates.
