Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 11:46:51 -0400
From: Terry Wintroub 
Subject: Re: [firearms-alert] CA: SCA 12 - Bullet Tax hearing coming up!


Dear Senator Poochigan:

This tax, like all price increases, will reduce demand. Ammo buyers will
buy less, therefore shoot less, therefore practice less, therefore
become less proficient with their guns, therefore cause MORE injuries.

This tax will reduce ammo sales in California as gunnies take their
business out of state via  internet and mail order. This will reduce CA
sales tax revenues.

This tax will reduce the amount of shooting that gunnies do, therefore
reduce the demand for ranges and gun clubs, therefore driving some out
of business, therefore reducing tax revenues further.

This tax will not reduce by so much as one (1) the number of victims of
firearms injuries. That's okay because this tax is not intended to
reduce ammo sales, ammo use, crime, or accidental shootings. It's
intended to crank out money for government use, specifically for
government to further subsidize emergency rooms because they cater to
the "approximately 10,000 Californians a year" who suffer gunshot
wounds. This is an unjustifiable act of income redistribution. 

First of all, 10,000 victims per year from 425 million rounds sold means
a teeny minority (0.002%) of rounds are causing injuries. There is no
rational or fair basis for making all those ammo buyers pay for the
offenses of so few wounders.

Second of all, even if ammo buyers are going to be taxed to provide
medical care to gunshot victims, their taxes should NOT be used to
subsidize emergency rooms in general. They should be used to subsidize
care only to gunshot victims.

If emergency rooms are to be further subsidized by new taxes on all
users of items that send people to the ER, then you need taxes on
automobile windshields, steering wheels, bumpers, tires, doors, windows,
dashboards, and seatbacks. Car wrecks cause trauma and related medical
care expenses in amounts that dwarf those caused by gunshots.

Terry Wintroub
Lawrenceville, NJ