Joe Biden’s plan to tax gun owners for the right to keep and bear arms could reach as high as $34 billion, according to an analysis by the Washington Free Beacon.
On the campaign trail, Biden made several promises relating to guns that he is going to have a hard time getting through Congress. Assigning liability for gun deaths to manufacturers is only the tip of the iceberg. Biden’s far-reaching program would drive online gun retailers out of business, which would include retailers selling gun supplies. It would force owners of AR-15s and other similar weapons to either sell them or register them with the government — paying $200 for the privilege.
The plan appears to harass and punish gun owners and manufacturers — simply because liberals hate guns.
Biden wants to ban new sales of AR-15 rifles and similar firearms as well as any ammunition magazine holding more than 10 rounds—sizes that come standard on most modern rifles and handguns. He would pay some owners to surrender the affected guns they legally own and force everyone else to register the guns under the National Firearms Act. The proposal would require owners to pay a $200 tax stamp for each item.
The report said the kinds of rifles Biden wants to ban made up nearly half of all rifles produced in 2018. Oliva said the group’s estimates may actually be undercounts. While NSSF used the latest Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives manufacturer reports, those only cover up to 2018, and Oliva said AR-15s have continued to grow in popularity since then.
An entire industry is under threat. How many small gun shops will be able to survive such restrictions? Gun manufacturers may as well declare bankruptcy now if Biden gets his way and is able to hold manufacturers responsible for some gang banger’s murder. States, cities, and private citizens will line up with their eyes lit up with dollar signs for the opportunity to reach into some deep pockets.
The report, which was released Monday, also found that 11.4 million firearms were made or imported into the United States in 2018. A further 9.3 million were made or imported in 2019. That brings the total number of firearms on the American market between 1991 and 2019 up to nearly 214 million.
Oliva said those numbers, combined with the fact that Americans increasingly favor AR-15s and other rifles targeted by Biden and gun-control advocates, are evidence the country is not interested in strict new gun laws.
“America’s attitude on gun control is shifting more toward the idea that we need to protect our rights and away from the idea we need government control of our destiny,” he said.
So why is Biden looking to crack down so heavily? The simple answer is that his biggest supporters are demanding it. Liberal blacks and other far left minorities, radical socialists, and liberal Democrats all agree that attacking gun owners and manufacturers is politically feasible. They aren’t stupid enough to believe the violence will let up one iota if they’re successful. But that’s not what this is about.
Gun owners are their political opponents. Sticking it to gun owners will help “transform” America. Disarming citizens will make people far more dependent on the government for protection, and thus, more dependent overall.
This is an issue where the slippery slope is clearly in view. And the left makes no effort to hide their ultimate goal of disarming every law-abiding citizen who owns a gun.
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