Assembly Member Marc Levine (D/10-Marin) has introduced AB 1223 – legislation which would impose an additional excise tax of $25 on the sale of new handguns and semiautomatic long guns and a yet to be determined excise tax on the sale of all ammunition, and require the revenue be used to fund programs to address the effects illegal firearm use has on California’s families and communities. Although all of California’s public benefit from programs which address the impacts of illegal gun violence, AB 1223 would place the entire burden of funding these efforts on the backs of law-abiding hunters and shooters. This legislation would also negatively impact California’s wildlife and hunting opportunity by driving up the cost of guns and ammunition and, in turn, reducing their sales and the annual Pittman-Robertson revenues made available to CDFW for wildlife conservation and management.
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