Cook County Gun Dealers, Owners Sue Over Firearms Tax

By Chuck Sudo in News on Mar 15, 2013 3:40PM

A group of Cook County gun dealers and owners filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the county’s new gun tax, claiming it to be a violation of their right to bear arms.

The seven gun shops and four individual owners listed as plaintiffs in the suit claim the tax, which goes into effect April 1, violates the U.S. and Illinois constitutions and is “excessive and arbitrary.” From the lawsuit:

“The tax which is imposed on law-abiding citizens and retailers has no clear and reasonable relationship to the victims of violent crime or to any other legitimate governmental or regulatory function of Cook County.”

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle proposed the $25-per-gun tax — which she called a “violence tax” aimed at curbing the purchase of firearms by “straw buyers” on behalf of gang bangers and others who don’t qualify for a FOID card — last year to help fill a $115 million budget deficit. The $600,000 in revenue the tax is expected to generate would be combined with a $2 million fund for programs aimed at reducing gun violence and other anti-violence measures. The County Board passed the budget with the tax in place; a proposal to charge a five-cent tax on bullets was scrapped.

Deborah Gowder, one of the plaintiffs in the suit, told the Sun-Times, “There’s enough taxes on guns already — we pay a sales tax. [And] I had to pay $100 to qualify to purchase a gun — and I think I’ve paid enough.” The lead plaintiff in the suit is Chuck’s Gun Shop in Riverdale. A study commissioned for the Chicago Police Department by the University of Chicago Crime Lab last year showed that one out of every five guns that reached the hands of street gangs came from Chuck’s Gun Shop.