According to the National Rifle Association (NRA), Americans have acquired over 170 million new firearms since 1991. While it’s tough to pinpoint the number of guns currently in the U.S., a 2012 Congressional Research Service suggests that the number hit 310 million in 2009.
A U.S. Congresswoman believes that those numbers present a unique opportunity to reduce gun violence. Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) has announced the introduction of a bill “aimed at reducing the number of guns in circulation, bolstering anti-violence and mental health programs and addressing the issue of lost and stolen firearms.”
The bill, H.R. 3830, dubbed the “Reducing Gun Violence in our Neighborhoods Act of 2015” would impose a $100 federal tax on the sales of guns. The proceeds from the tax would be distributed by the Justice Department and then funneled to mental health and anti-violence programs.
Velazquez said, about the boost in price, “If making guns more expensive means fewer end up in commerce, I’m happy with that result.” She went on the say, “However, if guns are going to be sold, then those purchasing and selling them should pay for programs that can reduce the incidence of gun violence in our local communities.”
If that sounds familiar, you may be thinking about the “gun violence tax” approved by the Seattle City Council earlier this year. Under the new Seattle law, gun and ammo sales are subject to a tax of $25 per firearm at sale and $0.05 for every round of ammunition at sale ($0.02 for every round of .22 caliber ammunition and smaller). Proceeds of the tax are to be used for gun violence research and prevention programs. Three gun-rights groups, including the NRA, the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the Second Amendment Foundation, have sued the city alleging that the tax is illegal.
A similar tax in Cook County, Illinois, was adopted after much controversy in 2012. The hope was that it would slow gun violence. However, according to reports in the Chicago Tribune, gun violence continues to escalate in the Windy City.
Velazquez says the bill will also strengthen federal reporting requirements for stolen or lost guns, establish a national database for missing firearms and utilize technology so that the origin of recovered weapons can be identified, assisting law enforcement investigations. A provision in the bill would require all gun owners to report any stolen weapons within 48 hours. Failure to do so would result in a $10,000 penalty. Currently, federal law requires firearms businesses holding a federal license to report lost or stolen guns but not individual gun owners.
A variation of the reporting requirement also appears in the Seattle City Council law which requires gun owners to report a lost or stolen firearm within 24 hours. Gun owners who fail to report within the appropriate time frame are hit with a much smaller penalty than the Velazquez proposal: just $500.
Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson, who has officially endorsed the bill, said about the reporting requirement, “We, in Brooklyn, are aggressively prosecuting gun traffickers and have taken hundreds of firearms, including assault weapons, off the streets in the course of several investigations with the NYPD. But we need to attack this problem on multiple fronts to stop guns from getting into the hands of criminals who use them to shoot innocent people and kill our police officers. Congresswoman Velázquez’s proposed legislation respects the rights of lawful gun owners and gun dealers while seeking to prevent the senseless gun violence, bloodshed and carnage that’s occurring every day in communities all across our country due to the easy access to guns and that’s why I support it.”
The bill was referred to three committees for review. GovTrack.us gives the bill 0% of being enacted.
