Gun, Ammunition Tax Proposed to Fund Health Socialism
Gun, Ammunition Tax Proposed to Fund Health Socialism
by Ari Armstrong (http://freecolorado.com/)
Part of a proposal for "universal," completely tax-funded medicine for
Colorado describes "funding mechanisms" such as "taxes on weapons and
ammunition to cover firearm-related injuries..."
This "Colorado Health Services Program," selected by the "208" Commission
for Healthcare Reform on May 18 as one of four for further evaluation, was
submitted by "Health Care for All Colorado," a group drawing on the ideas
of the Colorado Coalition for Single Payer, Boulder Health Policy Watch, a
former Green candidate for governor, and others. The proposal can be
accessed at http://tinyurl.com/2k2ykf.
The proposal also discusses "Molding healthy behavior" for "Health habits,
diet, child rearing techniques, etc." It calls for the creation of a new
bureaucracy called "Colorado Health Services," described as "a single,
comprehensive, publicly financed program designed for the integration of
the financing, delivery, and administration of health care."
On May 17, two Commission members praised this proposal for socialized
medicine as "bold" and "refreshing."
But there's nothing "refreshing" about discriminatory taxes applied to a
Constitutionally protected right, nor, more broadly, about subjecting our
lives to "comprehensive" bureaucratic control.
With respect to firearms, many on the left routinely ignore the benefits
of firearms ownership. Because responsible gun ownership enables better
defense and deterrence against crime, discriminatory taxes on responsible
gun owners would be particularly harmful. A high enough tax on guns and
ammunition would constitute a de facto ban.
Unintentional gun injuries are rare, and neither the general population
nor responsible gun owners should be forced to pay for them. Nor should
responsible gun owners be forced to pay extra for the mayhem of criminals
and gangsters. Any such tax on responsible gun owners would violate their
Constitutional rights, punish them for helping to reduce crime, and force
them to pick up the tab for criminals and gangsters.
The proposed tax on gun owners, and the proposal more generally, would
punish the responsible and subject our liberties to the whims of
bureaucrats.
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Front Range Objectivism
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