(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) In light of several recent and highly-publicized shootings, Democrats have continued to push gun control policies, nearly all of which would have had no impact on preventing the massacres.
Rep. Don Beyer , D-Va., is the latest to float his pet theory, this time proposing a policy that would allow only the rich to purchase and keep firearms, Business Insider reported.
Congress must act to prevent mass shootings.
I’m writing a bill to restrict the flow of weapons of war into American communities – including AR-15’s and high capacity magazines – that could bypass the filibuster and pass with just 50 votes in the Senate:https://t.co/dXFRFftYxu
— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) June 5, 2022
Beyer’s proposal includes a 1,000% fee on all semi-automatic rifles.
“What it’s intended to do is provide another creative pathway to actually make some sensible gun control happen,” Beyer said.
“We think that a 1,000% fee on assault weapons is just the kind of restrictive measure that creates enough fiscal impact to qualify for reconciliation.”
Of course, Beyer and the rest of his leftist friends have no problem arming the ultra wealthy while normal Americans are left in the dust.
Beyer suggested that he is willing to be flexible with the tax, with the aim being to restrict sales among average Americans.
“There’s nothing magical about that thousand-percent number,” he said. “It’s severe enough to actually inhibit and restrict sales. But also successful enough that it’s not seen as an absolute ban.”
His plan would reflect taxes that currently exist for tobacco and alcohol in many places around the nation.
Zach Moller, the director of the economic program at the Third Way think tank, a leftist organization in DC, expressed hope that the proposal could get jammed through Congress with the 2023 budget later this year.
“Taxes get more deference in budget reconciliation than other policies from a parliamentarian point of view,” he said.
“So a pure excise tax that isn’t set so high as to end all sales should pass the Byrd rule,” Moller said, suggesting ways in which the Democrats could arrange for a filibuster-proof proposal.
The proposal, however, will be tough for Democrats to pass. There is no precedent for such a bill, even on the state or local level.
