California Considers New Gun Tax

CALIFORNIA -- Owning a gun in California may become a little more expensive. A state lawmaker is proposing a new sales tax on guns with the revenue benefiting public schools.

Assembly Bill 2497, authored by Assemblyman Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove), would require a tax on retailers for selling firearms and ammunition beginning Jan. 1, 2019.

The revenue from the tax would then go to a "School Gun Violence Protection Fund," created under the same bill.

"The moneys in that fund would be continuously appropriated to the Department of Justice to fund the placement of counselors required by this bill on middle school and junior high school campuses," the bill read.

Cooper's proposal comes as the nation debates over how to, or whether to, control the sale of guns. The debate was amplified with survivors of the Parkland, Florida school shooting that killed 17 people.

In a statement provided to the Sacramento Bee, Cooper said "It sickens me to think about all the kids who have lost their lives in the school shootings that are plaguing our country. Arming teachers is not good public policy and shouldn't be considered."

The bill doesn't state how much gun retailers will be taxed.

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