Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced legislation Tuesday that would remove the “unconstitutional” tax on the purchase and transfer of firearms.
Hinson said in a statement:
The Second Amendment is a Constitutional right that is not to be infringed. Law-abiding gun owners should not be forced to pay an unconstitutional firearm tax. This bill will remove unnecessary financial barriers on lawful gun owners from the antiquated 1934 National Firearms Act and protect the Second Amendment rights of Iowans and Americans.
Under current law, there is a $200 tax on the purchase and transfer of firearms under the National Firearms Act, which according to the Alcohol, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), was created to “curtail, if not prohibit transactions” of firearms.
Hinson’s office said that this tax creates an undue financial burden on law-abiding Americans to purchase firearms, especially for those with more working-class backgrounds.
That is why Hinson sponsored the Repealing Illegal Freedom and Liberty (RIFLE) Act, which would scrap this tax; the Hawkeye State congresswoman believes it is a direct infringement on the Second Amendment.
Sen. Cotton sponsored the Senate version of the bill.
The Arkansas senator said in a written statement:
Law-abiding Americans who exercise their Second Amendment rights should not be subject to unnecessary taxes and restrictions preventing them from doing so. Passed into law in 1934, the National Firearms Act needs to be amended. Our legislation will remove the red tape that places an undue financial burden on would-be gun owners.
Firearms groups have backed Hinson’s and Cotton’s legislation.
“The National Rifle Association applauds Representative Hinson’s leadership on the Second Amendment and her reintroduction of the RIFLE Act,” John Commerford, executive director of National Rifle Association-Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), said in a statement. “This $200 punitive tax has only ever served as a financial barrier for law-abiding Americans to exercise their Second Amendment rights.”
“The tax stamp requirement for firearms and suppressors listed as controlled items under the National Firearms Act was intended to suppress Americans’ desire to fully exercise their Second Amendment rights. It was – and is – a ‘sin tax’,” Lawrence G. Keane, the National Shooting Sports Foundation senior vice president and general counsel, said.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.
