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?
Second Amendment Under Siege
Gun rights supporters see Colrado’s Proposition KK as more than just a tax; they see it as a threat to the Second Amendment. Under the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Bruen decision, laws that “burden” the right to bear arms are unconstitutional. But proponents of Proposition KK argue it’s about funding crucial mental health and crisis programs, not restricting gun ownership.
Opponents like Ian Escalante from Rocky Mountain Gun Owners disagree. “It’s not a gun problem; it’s a violent crime problem,” he said. “The justice system should be punishing crime. Instead of punishing crime, they’re just going to be punishing consumers.”
He believes the tax will do little to curb violence but will make self-defense more costly and out of reach for many law-abiding citizens.
Impact on Local Businesses & the Colorado Economy
Colorado’s gun businesses are already feeling the strain from past gun regulations, which have driven customers out of state. With Wyoming just a short drive from Northern Colorado, many local gun shops fear they will lose even more business if the new tax passes. Colorado resident and firearms business owner Brough predicts the tax will drive even more customers to his Wyoming store, where they can avoid the 6.5% excise tax altogether. This “buy local or leave” scenario has already played out in California, where many gun owners now seek options in nearby states to bypass hefty local taxes.
Fast Forward to the Courts
If Proposition KK passes, pro-gun groups are expected to challenge it in court, following California’s example. Legal experts speculate that Colorado’s tax could face the same scrutiny under the Bruen standard, which seeks to protect constitutional rights from burdensome restrictions.
Is it About Public Safety or Public Control?
Please join me in voting YES on Prop KK to support survivors and make a lasting difference. https://t.co/G7EC0nnUyS
— Monica Duran (@MonicaDuran23) October 29, 2024
The proposition’s supporters argue it could reduce violence by investing in mental health services and victim support programs. Colorado’s Democrat House Majority Leader Monica Duran says the focus is on public safety. But for many gun owners and advocates, the tax feels like a punishment targeting lawful gun ownership, especially given the already high federal excise tax (10-11%) on firearms, which funds national conservation efforts under the Pittman-Robertson Act.
The looming decision on Proposition KK has gun owners and Second Amendment advocates on edge, with many questioning the fairness and long-term impact of such targeted taxes. As Colorado’s voters head to the polls, the outcome could set a precedent not just for Colorado but for other states considering similar taxes on firearms and ammunition.
Lol, in typical demonkkkrat fashion they miss labeled it by not adding the third K.
You get enough tax money, take it out of your general fund and if you want to help victims of violence, try locking up the prisoners for longer periods, stop plea deals and start using the death penalty because that would accomplish saving lives, saving money and clearing out the trash that you support making it safer with less crime.
Vote republican.
cheaper than the lawsuits to remove it
poll tax for republicans and independents , surcharge for using x
A legal case does not need to depend on Bruen. Many cases, including the often referenced Minneapolis Star Tribune decision, says you can not have an extraordinary tax on a constitutional right. Any other similar State tax should have been ruled unconstitutional by now, even though they have not.
This so-called “tax” is nothing more than a dump truck full of horseshit! The purported benefits of “investing in mental health services and victim support programs” needs to come from state and federal funds, not by levying a specific group of citizens who are NOT responsible for what’s happening in our streets and schools. Voters will look at KK and think “well, if I vote for this, I’m at least doing something.” This feel-good approach is nonsense and does nothing but unfairly tax gun owners. The proponents of this tax need to be voted/thrown out of office yesterday as an… Read more »
Colorado Infringers need to understand exactly why the Second Amendment was written…
discriminatory, you are taxing a small portion of the population to fund something they are not responsible for.
better option would be to tax the perpetrators for the crimes they commit.
but hey, what do you expect, it’s colorado
Some Colorado clown posted that if we vote Jon Tester out him and his family will never vacation in Montana again . I told him good we won’t miss his liberal crap in Montana .
CO has become the CA of the Rockies. Fact, not hyperbole.
All these far leftist states that want to tax guns and ammo for their ” pet projects”, like mental health institution – does this mean contracts to build new mental health hospitals in Denver? Does some politicians cousin who owns a construction business will get a contract? And after they build a mental institution, is this going to be open for all the public who need it? And how many people are needed to be put in mental institutions? Are the politicians going to hire doctors, psychiatrists, and nurses? If the politicians can put a 6.5% tax on guns and… Read more »