Given the current political climate surrounding firearms, the second amendment, and what people can do to make the country safer, there have been some great suggestions. There have also been some incredibly shortsighted, race-baiting, and outright ignorant ideas floated out there, too. Like any tough decision-making process, there is a lot of muck to wade through.
Representative Don Beyer (D-VA) has one of the most ignorant ideas to date. Called the “Assault Weapons Excise Act,” this would tack on a 1,000% tax onto the cost of “large-capacity ammunition feeding devices and semi-automatic assault weapons” per the text of the bill. As many have been using the weapon of choice from the Uvalde shooter, his weapon would go from $1,870 up to $18,700 if this bill was enacted.
With Rep. Beyer’s bill being based around a tax increase, it could snake around some of the current political agendas we have now. By being introduced through the reconciliation process as it is a revenue measure, it would only need 50 senators to approve it. This is instead of the current number of 60 to get through filibusters and to pass most legislation. Beyer has claimed that his bill will “cut through the gridlock and get it done.”
The bill would exempt federal, state, and local agencies, so law enforcement and the military are tax exempt. It also shows just how badly the left wants to avoid people being able to arm themselves. This idea that somebody planted in the minds of the left that the second amendment is all about hunting, or that it isn’t absolute is moronic. Even further, it’s even more moronic that they believe that the American people should be paying an extra 1,000% to arm themselves.
Bills like Rep. Beyer’s have been tried in the past with no results. A bill like this doesn’t do anything but raise the costs for law-abiding citizens and could actually help better fund criminal organizations who are providing their so-called ghost guns, or who are selling stolen firearms. While illegal firearms are almost always cheaper, they do keep pace with the legal market, so if a legal rifle will cost you $18k, you can bet your bottom dollar some criminal will sell a stolen one for $10k just to make the quick sale.
Given the outcry for someone to please think of the children from both sides, they are scrambling to find an answer, despite the best answer sitting there staring them in the face. This refusal to make lasting and deep change isn’t a sign that we need more laws, taxes, or restrictions. It is instead a sign that the problem truly is not with the tool itself but the person using it.
Naturally, the left refuses to admit that there is a correlation between mental health medication for the school’s favorite diagnosis of ADD/ADHD and an increase in gun violence. They wouldn’t acknowledge it after Columbine, either. They, instead, continue to march around and blame the tool.
If the left won’t admit it’s a mental health problem, and any conservative worth their salt won’t give up on their second amendment rights, we are stuck at an impasse. There are some ways to fix this problem, but they all involve the one thing we all hate to do; compromise. Giving up our rights should never be considered, nor should paying massive taxes. However, the idea of red flag laws is being embraced by many conservative lawmakers, especially with the data that has emerged from Florida. What’s your line for compromise?
