Colorado’s Proposition KK: New “Sin Tax” Threatens Second Amendment Rights - Ammoland.com

Colorado voters will face a critical decision next week regarding ‘Proposition KK: Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax’, a 6.5% excise tax on firearms, ammunition, and gun parts.

Politically spun as a way to fund crisis support and mental health programs for crime victims, veterans, and youth, this tax is controversial, to say the least—raising significant concerns among gun rights advocates and firearms businesses who view it as an unjust attack on lawful gun owners and an infringement on the Second Amendment.

A Costly Burden on Gun Owners

The tax would mean that a $500 handgun would cost an extra $33, while a $1,000 rifle would be taxed an additional $65. These added costs, critics argue, disproportionately impact gun owners, with small businesses in particular likely to feel the strain. As Tim Brough, owner of several firearms stores across Colorado and Wyoming, explains, “It’s not like we’re taxing the whole population to solve a whole population’s problem. We’re taxing a small portion of the population to solve an issue.”

The proposal also sets Colorado alongside states like California, where similar taxes have already been imposed on guns and ammo. Gun rights advocates, including the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Second Amendment Foundation, have challenged California’s gun tax law in court, arguing that such taxes target and penalize those exercising a constitutional right. The concern is that allowing these targeted taxes sets a precedent: if the government can tax firearms specifically, what’s stopping them from taxing any other right they disagree with?

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