You might consider asking those politicians WHY they are ONLY taxing guns?
Why aren't they putting the tax on golf clubs, tennis racquets, sneakers, boats, cars, coffee, jet skis, or any of the OTHER things people buy and use in their lives??
Or, alternately, not tax items, but usage?? Why not put a tax on the cost of every round of golf played in the state?? (for one example). A tax on that, unlike a tax on the purchase of an item, is continuous.
OR, add the tax to everyone's phone bill? Or property tax? OR add it to the gas tax, or other existing tax?
Doing that would make better economic sense, from the point of view of increasing state revenue.
The problem politicians have with doing that is that it doesn't make good political sense. Raising taxes and/or adding new ones makes people unhappy. Make enough people unhappy, and the politician is out of a job.
Tax a MINORITY group (gun buyers), one that is not identified, defined, and protected by law, and you upset fewer people.
And, then there is the issue that, IF such a tax fails to provide the desired level of money, where does the state get the money to make up the difference?? Suppose they pass it, and spend the money on School Resource Officers (cops), then due to various reasons, people don't buy as many guns in a year as they used to, and the tax money goes down. What then? Raise the tax RATE on the guns we do buy?? Tax something else??
OR, do you think the politicians are going to tell the public that "we have to lay off some of our cops, because people didn't buy enough guns to pay for them!" I'd love to see a politician try that level of honesty!
When discussing guns with people from now on I will bring up this point. Point appreciated.