Firearms tax: Proactive way to make Tacoma safer

Re: “Gun, ammunition tax proposed by Tacoma council member,” (TNT, 8/24).

The recent spate of mass killings has involved assault weapons that belong only on a battlefield. We cannot become immune to the fact that these guns of mass destruction need to be taken off the streets of our community.

Washington state doesn’t allow local governments to ban firearms-related items. Meanwhile, the federal Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act was passed in 1994. It reduced the use of large-capacity magazines in crime; unfortunately, it expired in 2004.

But we still have a chance to be proactive in stopping a mass shooting in our community. We also have to consider that urban gun violence, happening daily in our cities, including Tacoma, takes 35,000-plus lives in our cities each year.

I urge the council to pass the retail firearms and ammunition tax proposed by City Council member Ryan Mello and help make Tacoma a safer place to live.

This story was originally published September 6, 2019 at 4:48 PM.