Candidate favors a “vice” tax on guns and ammunition
WASHINGTON , D.C. – Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry often tires to portray himself as sportsman hunter, appearing at shooting events like he will today in Youngstown, OH. But Kerry clearly does not stand with gun owners when it comes to taxes.
Sen. Kerry told CNN Late Edition, “I think you ought to tax all ammunition, personally, I think you ought to tax all guns.”
“John Kerry may pose with a shotgun from time to time, but that doesn’t mean he is a friend of the second amendment or taxpayers,” said ATR President Grover Norquist. “He wants to tax guns and ammunition to pay back the Washington, D.C. liberal spending groups helping him get elected.”
John Kerry has been endorsed by virtually every liberal anti-gun and anti-hunting group in America, including the left-wing Brady Campaign, while sportsman and pro-Second Amendment groups have given Kerry their lowest ratings.
Sen. Kerry has voted in favor of higher taxes 350 times during his 20 year Senate tenure. His campaign promises in this election total more than $2.2 trillion over ten years, while he has only said he will raise taxes by $600 billion. That leaves a tax gap over $1.8 trillion that will be financed with tax increases once he is elected. Those tax increases can come from any number of sources. Clearly gun owners should be watching this issue very closely.
Based his 20 year anti-gun record in the Senate, the agenda of his supporters who have flooded his coffers with campaign contributions, and the Senators own statements, ATR asserts that John Kerry will stick guns owners and dealers with exorbitant “vice” taxes. The taxes could make it too expensive for a father to buy his son a hunting rifle, a sports shooter to buy new shells, or a single mother to purchase a small handgun to protect her home.
“John Kerry is trying to fool gun enthusiasts by posing as a sportsman, but his liberal 20 year record speaks for itself,” continued Norquist. “John Kerry wants to stick every gun owner and dealer with stifling tax hikes as form of de facto gun control."