California Assembly Bill 1223 ecently passed out of the Public Safety Committee hearing by a vote of 6-2 and has a new hearing scheduled in the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee on April 26 at 2:30 p.m. in State Capitol Room 4202. AB 1223 extends a $25 excise tax on the purchase of a handgun or semiautomatic rifle until January 2028. The $25 excise tax already exists but is set to expire on January 1, 2025. AB 1223 r
Take Action! California members should contact the committee chair and vice chair and urge them to vote no! Assembly Member Autumn Burke (Chair) can be reached at (916) 319-2062 and Assembly Member Janet Nguyen (Vice Chair) can be reached at (916) 319-2072.
Members can also contact their state assembly members and urge them to oppose Assembly Bill 1223. California members can find their legislators by using the Sportsmen’s Alliance Legislative Action Center.
Sportsmen already pay an 11-percent federal excise tax on the purchase of firearms and ammunition, which funds wildlife conservation efforts. The additional $25 per handgun and semiautomatic rifle funds a violence prevention and intervention grant program.
“Forcing every gun owner to pay for programming because of a small minority of people using firearms illegally is larceny. This is a societal issue, not a sportsman’s issue,” said Bruce Tague, vice president of government affairs at the Sportsmen’s Alliance. “Why should law-abiding sportsmen have to pay even more taxes for exercising a civil right because the state of California can’t get a handle on poverty, drug use and trafficking, and other crime? Not to mention, most of the people responsible for this illegal behavior aren’t buying their firearms at retail.”
About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.