Gov. Newsom Signs 11% Excise Tax on Guns, Describes It as a 'Sin Tax'

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed into law an 11 percent tax on guns and ammunition Tuesday, describing the gun control measure as a “sin tax.”

On August 23, 2023, Breitbart News reported that California Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel (D) was pushing legislation to create the 11 percent excise tax on firearm and ammunition sales in the state.

He touted the bill as means to bring nearly $160 million in annual revenue for the state government. Former Assemblyman Marc Levine (D) voiced support for Gabriel’s excise tax because California is “facing a $31.5 billion budget gap,” the Sacramento Bee noted.

Newsom signed the new tax into law on Tuesday, and explained his view on it during a question and answer session afterwards.

A reporter pointed out that Newsom has opposed tax increases in the past and asked Newsom why he supported this one.

Newsom responded, “For me this is a little different. This is an excise tax related to gun safety. It funds mental health services, funds school safety programs…I see this a little bit differently, in that context. This is not a general income tax, not a corporate tax, this is…from my perspective, more of a sin tax, where there is a cause and effect and justification.”

Another reporter asked what Newsom has to say to those who say he should be fighting gun violence out of the general fund instead of creating a new tax.

Newsom said, “I respectfully disagree, and my signature represents that disagreement.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010, a speaker at the 2023 Western Conservative Summit, and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.