Virginia Democrat Congressman Don Beyer has found a way to stop the sale of many AR-15 rifles without Republican votes.
Rep Beyer has proposed a new bill that would apply a 1000% tax on the sale of AR-15s. By adding it to a reconciliation package, Beyer would be able to pass the bill with a tie breaking vote from Vice President Kamala Harris.
“We think that a 1,000% fee on assault weapons is just the kind of restrictive measure that creates enough fiscal impact to qualify for reconciliation.” said the Democrat Congressman.
Many of the other firearm restriction bills proposed by the Democrats, including an attempt to ban “assault weapons” in the country, would require 60 votes to pass the Senate. The Democrats currently only have 50 votes, so they would require 10 Republicans to pass any normal bill.
A 1000% tax on these weapons would raise their average price range from $700 to $2000 all the way to $7000 to $20000 per rifle.
Beyer did say the 1000% rate could still be changed as long as it would artificially restrict sales on the gun.
“There’s nothing magical about that thousand-percent number,” he said. “It’s severe enough to actually inhibit and restrict sales. But also successful enough that it’s not seen as an absolute ban.”
While normally Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia serves as a spoiler for Democrats, he suggested this week that he would be open to a potential AR-15 ban, saying, “I never felt like I needed something of that magnitude.”
House Democrats are currently setting up for a vote on a series of gun control measures that already passed the Judiciary committee on party lines. These include raising the age to buy semi automatic rifles to 21, ban “high capacity” ammo magazines, prohibiting the sale of ghost guns, and making gun safes mandatory for gun owners.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has also promised to bring up a vote to ban “assault rifles” entirely. This plan has been supported by President Biden and Vice President Harris, who made the same demand shortly after the elementary school massacre in Uvalde, Texas. It’s unclear if Pelosi has the votes to pass the ban in the House.
While many of these bills will struggle to become laws, the high taxation could very well pass. Do you think anyone would still buy an AR-15 if they cost over $10,000?
