The standard line for anti-gun Democrats is that they’re not anti-gun at all, they’re just in favor of a few “common sense safety measures”. Those can include anything from bans on commonly owned firearms, restrictions on the right to carry, waiting periods, gun rationing laws, and a number of other policies, but it also means they oppose any law that might be beneficial to gun owners.
That includes a new Florida law that makes it a little more affordable to exercise our Second Amendment rights. Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed Florida’s new budget into law, which includes a Second Amendment sales tax holiday that runs from early September through the end of the year. The budget doesn’t change who can exercise their 2A rights, but Democrats like state senator Tina Polsky are still claiming the holiday will make the state a more dangerous place.
When other states have had tax holidays of only one day, there was a 650% increase in the purchase of weapons in the state of South Carolina. This proposed tax holiday for Florida is almost four months long. We have millions of guns already in this state. Are we really looking to increase that number by such an astronomical percentage?
Gun sales aren’t going to go up by 650% from September to December, though I wouldn’t be surprised if there is an increase compared to last year.
Polsky claims that more guns will equal more crimes, including more mass shootings, even though Florida’s violent crime rate has steadily declined over the past few decades under both “shall issue” and permitless carry laws.
I have the honor of representing Parkland and the surrounding communities. I work very closely with the organizations who, seven years later, still provide services for the ongoing trauma. I know the families. I was inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the aftermath of the shooting, and I saw the blood on the floors. I will never stop fighting for gun safety reforms because we need to do everything we can as a state government to protect and keep our constituents safe. This tax holiday on guns is irresponsible, coldly political and a slap in the face to the victims and their families.
I’ll agree that the decision to include a Second Amendment sales tax holiday in the budget was a political one, but it’s neither irresponsible nor a slap in the face to the victims of Parkland or any other violent crime. It’s simply a way to slightly bring down the price of firearms, ammunition, and other Second Amendment-related items for a few months, and the folks who’ll benefit are those who can lawfully exercise their right to keep and bear arms.
No violent criminal is going to hold off on purchasing a gun until the sales tax holiday kicks in. Odds are they can’t legally buy a gun to begin with, so they’ll keep stealing guns, using straw buyers, or obtaining a firearm on the black market.
The only non-budgetary reason to oppose this sales tax holiday is opposition to gun ownership itself. Polsky should be honest with her constituents and readers and admit that her hostility towards the sales tax holiday isn’t about fighting for “gun safety reforms”. It’s about trying to eradicate the Second Amendment altogether.. and, failing that, making it as expensive as possible to exercise that fundamental right.
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