Bill proposing ammo tax is shelved
By Gary Voet -- Sacramento Bee Staff Writer
August 7, 2002
The "good thought, bad implementation" bill, Senate Constitutional Amendment 12, is no longer a source of discussion among sportsmen. At least not this year.
SCA 12 was a proposed constitutional amendment that would have taxed law-abiding sportsmen to compensate for the medical expenses of victims of illegal firearm use. The amendment would have levied a five-cent tax on each round of ammunition sold in California after Jan. 1, 2003.
But Tuesday, one day before it was to be heard by the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee, the bill was pulled by its author, Sen. Don Perata, D-Alameda. It had already cleared one Senate subcommittee, and if it had passed today, it had one more subcommittee to go to before it went to the Senate floor.
Then, assuming it passed on the Senate side, it would have had to go through all the hoops on the Assembly side, meaning more subcommittees and more time.
With the state's budget the center of debate in the Legislature right now, other bills putting SCA 12 in low priority and the Legislature shutting down at the end of this month, time is in short supply. And that probably played into Perata's decision to pull the bill.
"We have been fighting this and were going to fight it (today), but time was on our side," said Bill Gaines, director of governmental affairs for the California Waterfowl Association. "It will probably rear its ugly head up again next year, but we will be better prepared for it then."
The tax from the amendment also would have financed a trauma center fund, which did not bother opponents of the bill. The objection was it would tax sportsmen and sport shooters who obey gun regulations and promote safe handling of firearms.
Making law-abiding sportsmen pay for suffering caused by urban criminals is "unfair and intolerable," claimed the opposition.
"While increasing funding for trauma centers is an admirable goal, requiring hunters and other law-abiding sportsmen and women to shoulder such costs belies the 'user pays' principle," said Gaines. "There is simply no nexus, documented or otherwise, between sporting activities and gun violence.
"Rather, it is the illegal use of firearms by criminals that causes the vast majority of firearms injuries and fatalities.
"Ironically, the sporting community has long sought to reduce firearm-related accidents through hunter safety programs and various other self-imposed measures. Through such efforts, concerned hunters have significantly reduced the number of firearms injuries in the field over the last 30 years, making hunting one of the safest outdoor recreational pursuits available in California today."
Dove hunt
The Department of Fish and Game will be offering a special dove hunt Sept. 1-2 at Cosumnes River Preserve.
The free public hunt will be limited to 50 hunters each day, and the deadline to apply is Aug. 14. Hunts are open to anyone holding a current California hunting license.
Send or drop off a 4-by-6 postcard to DFG, 1701 Nimbus Road, Suite A, Rancho Cordova, 95670. Up to four hunters may apply as a party. Applicants who wish to hunt together should apply on one postcard. Names and hunting license numbers, hunt dates in order of preference and one contact address and phone number must be on each postcard.
Computers will select hunters by random, and successful applicants will be mailed a permit, map and specific information six to eight days before the hunt.
Only one postcard may be submitted per party. Submitting more than one application for this hunt will result in a disqualification of the applicant.
For more information, call (916) 358-2877.
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About the Writer
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The Bee's Gary Voet can be reached at (916) 321-1179 or
gvoet@sacbee.com.
