Colorado could increase taxes on guns and ammunition sold in the state if voters approve it.
A bill that would put the issue on the ballot in November passed the state’s House Finance Committee in a 6-5 vote on Monday, and now heads to the Appropriations Committee.
House Bill 24-1349 would ask voters if they be in favor of a 9 percent tax—initially 11 percent—on guns and ammunition.
House Majority Leader Monica Duran, the bill’s prime sponsor, said the main reason for the bill is to raise money for state programs that need funding.
The money raised from taxes would be allocated to the Colorado crime victim services fund; the victims and witness assistance and law enforcement fund for local judicial districts; the victim services fund for mass tragedy response and prevention programs and wildlife cash fund.
A stock photo shows guns for sale. A proposal in Colorado would add a tax on sales of guns and ammunition. A stock photo shows guns for sale. A proposal in Colorado would add a tax on sales of guns and ammunition. iStock
“Unfortunately, the need is not going down when it comes to the needs of domestic violence, sexual assault, crime victims across the board,” Duran said, according to local news station KDVR.
“When it comes to mental health, school safety, it’s not decreasing. If anything, it’s increasing, so I wanted to create a funding stream so we would have those dollars every year.”
Duran said she thinks voters will be “happy to pay a little extra when it comes to their guns and ammunition, whatever they are buying, knowing that funding is going directly to three things: crime victims, school safety and mental health.”
Newsweek has contacted Duran for further comment via email.
Opponents to the bill, including gun rights advocacy group Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, testified before the committee on Monday.
Ian Escalante, the director of operations for the group, railed against the bill in a video posted on social media, calling it “absolutely insane.”
The bill passed out of the committee by a single vote, Escalante noted on X, formerly Twitter. He said State Rep. Marc Snyder, the chair of the Finance Committee, “caved to his masters at Everytown [a nonprofit that advocates for gun control] to screw over gun owners and make purchasing firearms unaffordable.”
Escalante added that he would soon post Snyder’s cell phone number on the platform.
“I need you guys to light him up,” he said. “So keep fighting. We’re going to war. We’re going to stop this either in committee or at the ballot box.”
Newsweek has contacted Rocky Mountain Gun Owners and State Rep. Marc Snyder for comment via email.
The federal government already taxes the sale of guns and ammunition at either 10 or 11 percent, depending on the type of gun. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law last year that adds another 11 percent tax on top of that, making it the only state with a separate tax on guns and ammunition.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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