Changes afoot for proposed guns-and-ammo tax? Tacoma leaders postpone vote on new law
Tacoma City Council delayed the vote of a firearm and ammunition tax Tuesday night after members stated they wanted more time to consider amendments to the proposal.
The council will vote on whether to approve the tax at the Nov. 12 meeting.
“I’ve known there were further amendments that some members wanted to offer and sometimes this happens on high-profile issues that get a lot of scrutiny, sometimes they get postponed the last minute — it’s not the first time and it won’t be the last,” Council member Ryan Mello told The News Tribune.
Mello, who sponsored the firearm tax, added that while he was ready to vote on the tax and all amendments Tuesday, he felt the delay necessary to “keep the gang together.”
“If others need more time, others need more time,” he said.
People packed the council chambers Tuesday night in anticipation of the vote.The proposal, which passed first reading, would create a tax of $25 per firearm, $0.02 per round of ammunition of .22-caliber or less, and $0.05 per round of other ammunition sold at retail. Money from the taxes, estimated at $30,000 annually, would fund violence-prevention programs in the city.
After a brief delay, council voted at the start of the meeting to move the vote with anticipation of more amendments.
One of those amendments would address firearm manufacturing by redefining a firearm to be a “weapon from which a projectile or projectiles may be fired by an explosive such as gunpowder, and does not include parts or components used to make a firearm.”
Aero Precision, a firearm manufacturer in Tacoma that employs more than 400 people, remained firm in a Facebook post Tuesday that it does not support a tax even if amendments are brought forth “on our behalf.”
Aero Precision called the decision to move the vote “a success … for now,” according to a Facebook statement.
Council member Robert Thoms suggested to The News Tribune last week using money from the proposed taxes to create a gun buy-back program.
Council member Keith Blocker confirmed that he was looking to bring forward some sort of assessment to track whether the violence-prevention programs were working as intended.
People vacated the council chambers after Mayor Victoria Woodards reminded the crowd that comments cannot be made on an item no longer on the agenda.
Bruce Smith, manager of Surplus Ammo & Arms in Tacoma who previously shared that his business was at risk with the tax, was present at the meeting and said he plans to be back on Nov. 12 to oppose the tax.
