Opinion
Montana – -(AmmoLand.com)- Dear Friends,
On August 29th, 2018, candidate for Congress Kathleen Williams told a Kalispell audience that she wants to levy a $200 million tax on Montana gun owners.
Really! Although that’s not the way she put it. She said that “high capacity magazines” (over 10 rounds of ammunition) need to be treated legally the same as “sawed off shotguns” and “machine guns.”
These items, you may know, require an application to the BATFE, a nine-month wait, and a $200 tax for each item registered, in order to legally possess them.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation estimates that there are 132 million high capacity magazines in private ownership in the US. Given the high density of firearms in Montana, there must be at least one million of the magazines Williams would target in Montana, probably many more.
One million magazines in Montana and a $200 tax for each one by Williams is where Williams’ $200 million tax on Montana gun owners comes from.
Wait, you say. Williams is so ignorant about gun laws that she didn’t know that her proposal to legally reclassify hi-cap magazines as NFA items would levy $200 million in taxes on Montana gun owners.
Well, if she gets her way and you don’t pay the tax on your magazines, some judge will inform you that ignorance of the law is no excuse. Not for you and me, and not for Williams.
If Williams should get elected and get her way about the tax on Montana gun owners, one of the people who would have to pay that tax is Greg Gianforte, our sitting congressman who Williams is trying to unseat. I don’t know how many hi-cap magazines Gianforte has, but I know he has some.
It is because I know Gianforte to be a very pro-gun guy, and because of Williams idea for a $200 million tax on Montana gun owners, that I urge you to tell all your friends to support Gianforte in the election that is going on right now.
Sincerely,
—
Gary Marbut, President
Montana Shooting Sports Association
https://www.mtssa.org
Author, Gun Laws of Montana
https://www.mtpublish.com
About Montana Shooting Sports Association:
Montana Shooting Sports Association is the primary political advocate for Montana gun owners. Visit: www.mtssa.org