A proposal by Baltimore, Maryland mayoral candidate Otis Rolley to levy a tax of $1 per cartridge in an effort to cut down crime and random gunfire in the city is typical of an anti-gun liberal who decries urban violence but offers a way for government to profit from it while not solving the problem, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.
Rolley, a Democrat, is quoted by WBAL news acknowledging that raising the cost of firearms won’t work “because many criminals don’t purchase new guns, and they can be borrowed or even rented in some areas.”
“Sounds like Rolley’s trolley has left the tracks,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “If this guy actually believes that criminals rent firearms, he must live on Fantasy Island. Criminals steal firearms, even from the police, and when they do, they also steal the ammunition. Clearly, this one dollar-per-bullet tax idea comes from someone who doesn’t have a clue about criminals or the way they operate, but he does know about raising taxes.”
Rolley told a reporter that the tax would curb random shootings, especially around the holidays, by making it too expensive for people to indiscriminately discharge firearms.
“Tell that to someone who spends $300 on Fourth of July fireworks,” Gottlieb observed. “Rolley is really looking for a new revenue vehicle to fatten the city coffers, and sticking law-abiding citizens with the bill.
“Imagine what the First Amendment reaction from the press might be,” he said, “if Rolley had proposed a one-dollar tax per word in every newspaper in the city. There would be howls from every editorial board in the state, calling it a nutty idea that would not pass constitutional muster. The same goes for this proposed Second Amendment tax on recreational shooters, hunters and citizens concerned about personal protection.
“Rolley really needs a reality check,” Gottlieb concluded. “He ought to bite the bullet on this goofy proposal that shows just how far anti-gun extremists will go.”
