Just months after Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed a bill barring K-12 teachers from being armed for self-defense, Assemblyman Jim Cooper (D-9) is pushing a tax on firearms to pay for school security.
His bill, AB 2497, would also tax ammunition to help fund security at schools.
The text of AB 2497 proposes that there be a tax “for the privilege of selling a firearm at retail” beginning January 1, 2019. The monies accrued from that tax would be used to fund school security. In the same way, a tax would be imposed “for the privilege of selling ammunition at retail.” Those monies would also go toward school security.
On October 15, 2017, Breitbart News reported that Gov. Brown signed legislation guaranteeing teachers would not be able to shoot back if attacked. That legislation, AB 424, was sponsored by Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento).
McCarty defended his push to disarm teachers by saying, “A safe learning environment is essential for our children to be successful in the classroom. That’s not possible if a school district allows armed civilians to roam California school campuses.”
At the time, Kern High School District, Kingsburg Joint Union High School District, Folsom Cordova Unified School District, Anderson Union High School District, and Palo Cedro’s North Cow Creek School District had chosen to allow certain teachers with concealed carry licenses to carry. McCarty did not cite a single incident in which one of those teachers acted inappropriately with their firearm nor could he point to a time when a student gained access to the teacher’s firearm.
Now Assemblyman Cooper wants to tax firearm and ammunition purchases to fund security for schools.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, 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. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.
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