Gun rights advocates sue Seattle over tax on sale of firearms and ammunition
Gun rights groups are suing the city of Seattle over its enactment of a new tax on firearms and ammunition sales.
The groups contend that the tax violates a state law barring municipalities from enacting local firearms regulations, Reuters and the Associated Press report.
“The Seattle ordinance is nothing but a ‘poll tax’ on the Second Amendment and an effort to drive Seattle’s firearms retailers out of business,” said Lawrence Keane, general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, one of the plaintiffs.
The Seattle City Council approved the measure, known as a “gun violence” tax, earlier this month. The tax amounts to $25 on the sale of each firearm and up to 5 cents per round for nearly every type of ammunition. Proceeds from the tax are supposed to go towards violence prevention programs and research.
A spokeswoman for City Attorney Pete Holmes said the city believes it is “well within its legal authority to tax the sales of firearms and ammunition and will vigorously defend the ordinance in court.”
A spokesman for state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said his office is looking into the lawsuit.
The National Rifle Association, one of the plaintiffs, said Chicago is the only other city in the country with a municipal tax on gun sales.
