Colorado voters have approved a measure to place a 6.5% excise tax on gun and ammunition sales this election cycle with a 54% yes vote.
It makes Colorado the second state in the country to approve such a measure after one went to effect in California in July.
The expected $39 million revenue will support crime victims and mental health services in the state, and some of the money will go to schools.
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“There’s a lot of tax revenue from this industry and I do think it’s going to cause some shops to close. I think it’ll affect sales,” said Wayne Price, owner of The Gun Room in Lakewood, Colorado.
Price estimates the new tax will add $6,000 to $7,000 to his expenses each month, something he says he’ll have to pass onto the consumer through higher prices since margins are already tight.
With some of his guns worth up to $10,000, the new tax could add up to $650 on the price of a purchase.
“We’re taxing a constitutional right to fund this which I think is going about it the wrong way,” Price said.
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The money from Proposition KK is to offset losses after federal grants for these programs fell by 45% this year, according to state data. The state of Colorado says that’s due to sharp decreases in the number of fines and penalties against federal offenders since that money exclusively funds these grants through the Victims of Crime Act.
“If it hadn’t passed, the fear [of] how are they going to be funded because there’s no money in the state budget,” said Eileen McCarron, president of Colorado Cease Fire, the group behind the bill.
McCarron says the reason guns are the subject of this tax is because of their prevalence in domestic violence cases. According to Everytown research, access to a gun makes it five times more likely that a woman will die at the hands of a domestic abuser.
McCarron says this was not a measure intended to restrict gun ownership or use. As many as six other states are working on similar legislation across the country.
