Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
Cook County bureaucrats are proposing a “violence tax” on all guns and ammunition sold in the county where Chicago is located. County President Toni Preckwinkle says the expropriated funds will be used to pay for the spendthrift ways of local government.
Preckwinkle’s chief of staff, Kurt Summers, told the Chicago Sun-Times the tax is “consistent with our commitment to pursuing violence reduction in the city and in the county.”
If we are to follow Mr. Summers’ reasoning, it is also part of a commitment to make it more difficult for residents to protect themselves and their families from criminals.
Chicago is one of the most violent cities in the United States. The homicide rate is attributed to out of control gang activity. Experts say the violence is attributed to drug gangs and unemployment.
Despite the threat posed by drug gangs and a high property crime rate, Chicago has some of the most severe gun laws in the nation. It requires all firearms to be registered with the police, the sale of firearms is illegal within city limits, and the city has banned the possession of semi-automatic firearms.
In order for Chicago residents to practice their right under the Constitution to own firearms, the city demands they pay a $100 fee every three years and register every weapon at a cost of $15 per gun.
Preckwinkle’s scheme will make it even more difficult to exercise the Second Amendment in Cook County. In fact, the county admits that the tax is designed to discourage residents from owning firearms.