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http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200702/POL20070212a.html
County With Assault Weapons Ban Rejects Plan to Tax Bullets
By Randy Hall
CNSNews.com Staff Writer/Editor
February 12, 2007
(CNSNews.com) - With a ban on assault weapons set to take effect in Cook County, Ill., on Monday, the county's board of commissioners has rejected a novel approach to dealing with a $500 million budget deficit -- an attempt to impose a tax on bullets.
Commissioner Roberto Maldonado, who proposed the plan at a county board meeting on Feb. 6, told Cybercast News Service on Friday that while the amount of money it would have raised -- about $735,000 per year -- was "very small," the ordinance would have re-affirmed "that we are an anti-gun, anti-violence type of community."
"Anything we can do to bring awareness on this issue" to the people is worthwhile, Maldonado said after his plan to levy a tax of 50 cents per round of ammunition sold in the county was turned down by the county's finance committee.
The commissioner explained that any revenue raised by the measure would have been used "to offset the increasing cost to the county's bureau of health when treating victims of gun violence."
"I think that is the right policy to pursue," he said, adding that he may revive the proposal at a later stage.
Faced with $350 million in cuts as part of board President Todd Stroger's plan to balance the budget without a tax increase, commissioners at Tuesday's meeting proposed dozens of ways to boost county revenue from other sources, ranging from $300 fines for false burglar alarms to a $50 charge for owners of vehicles weighing more than 4,500 pounds, such as SUVs.
Stroger said he would not oppose any of the ideas proposed by the commissioners, though he did disagree with Maldonado's use of the word "tax" rather than other terms for increases in revenue.
"A tax would actually affect all of us, but I believe what [the other commissioners] are asking for are fees," Stroger said. "It doesn't make it a tax just because [Maldonado] said it."
Nevertheless, Maldonado, who has served on the board since 1994, called Stroger's plan "as close as possible to a sin tax."
That comment drew a sharp response from Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA), who said that "gun ownership is not a sin."
Pearson told Cybercast News Service on Friday that he considered the commissioner's remark "an appalling display of disrespect for our Constitution. The ISRA would like to inform Maldonado that in this country, constitutional rights are not considered sins - they are cherished icons essential to our liberty."
'Drive them out of business'
Pearson noted that taxing bullets sold in Cook County would indeed raise few funds because the county commissioners "passed a convoluted but comprehensive assault weapons ban in November, which no one seemed to know about until the next day because it wasn't on the agenda."
According to the Cook County Clerk's website, an ordinance entitled "Amendment to the Cook County Deadly Weapons Dealer Control Ordinance" states: "No person shall manufacture, sell, offer or display for sale, give, lend, transfer ownership of, acquire or possess any assault weapon or large capacity magazine."
Earlier legislation banned military-style assault weapons by make and model number, not by any firearm's specifications, but the new regulation included descriptions of the forbidden weapons - such as grips, scopes and ammunition clips - making it nearly impossible for manufacturers to circumvent the law through updated model names.
The ordinance also gave anyone "legally in possession of an assault weapon or large capacity magazine" 90 days to remove the item from the county, render it permanently inoperable or surrender it to the sheriff for destruction. That grace period expires Monday.
Pearson noted that the only people not affected by the ban "are the criminals, but who cares about them? I think the primary purpose of the Cook County government is to get rid of individual rights, second only to taxing the people to death."
The concept of taxing bullets in an area where selling or owning assault weapons is illegal is "Cook County logic," Pearson added. "You still have some rifle ranges and pistol ranges in the county that use other kinds of firearms, and this would drive them out of business."
"This 'bullet tax' idea is just another facet of an ongoing campaign to vilify and punish county residents who dare to own and enjoy firearms," he noted.
Maldonado responded to Pearson's comment by saying that owning guns "might be enjoyment for him, but for many people in my community and the district I represent, individuals using weapons who do not have the lawful right to own one cause a lot of damage."
In fact, the issue of gun violence "is the social problem that ranks at the top of my list" of priorities, the commissioner said. He added that he might revive his proposal after the county's current fiscal crisis is resolved.
Meanwhile, Pearson noted that he has "an alternative tax plan to suggest to Mr. Maldonado" regarding the budget, which must be approved by the board of commissioners by the end of the month.
He said his proposal could balance the budget, but might have negative consequences for the commissioner. "If my proposed tax on baloney were to pass," he said. "Maldonado would no longer be able to afford to live in Cook County."
