Gov. Ritter to charge gun purchasers a $10.50 fee to pay for state-mandated background
24/01/10 12:46
Dear CSSA Member,
The Denver Post reports that a Democrat proposal led by Gov. Ritter to
charge gun purchasers a $10.50 fee to pay for state-mandated background
checks has met with opposition from Republican members of the Joint Budget
Committee. Both Sen. Al White (R-Hayden) and Rep. Kent Lambert (R-Colo.
Springs) have stated they oppose the measure as an unfair burden on gun
owners. Lambert likened the proposal to a poll tax, i.e. making people pay
to exercise a Constitutional right. The Post's report went on to relate
that the measure was meeting with little support from General Assembly
members of both parties. The state checks, conducted by CBI, were mandated
in 1998; gun owners were promised by legislators that the state would fund
the additional cost of these checks. Last year, Gov. Ritter vetoed a bill
that would have greatly reduced the number of background checks by exempting
concealed carry permit holders, who undergo a much more stringent check
before obtaining their permits. Furthermore, ninety percent of states
exclusively use the National Instant Check System, which costs nothing.
This proposed fee (actually a tax: ANY funds extracted from the citizens for
the government coffers) is similar to the Poll Taxes imposed on blacks and
poor whites in the South after the Civil War in that it will infringe on the
exercise of a Constitutional right - in this case, the 2nd Amendment.
Remember that our Founding Fathers saw these rights as PRE-EXISTING RIGHTS
which the government has a DUTY to RECOGNIZE and PROTECT. Anti-gun liberals
and socialists today would have you believe that human rights are granted,
and continue, at the discretion of the government, and this is an outright
lie.
Please contact your State Senator and Representative, as well as Gov. Ritter
(303-866-2471), and voice your opposition to this proposed tax on your basic
Constitutional right to keep and bear arms! Please also thank Sen. White
(303-866-2586) and Rep. Lambert (303-866-2937) for standing strong for your
rights.
Please refer to the Denver Post article below:
State proposal to have gun buyers pay for background checks hits snag
The Denver Post
Posted: 01/22/2010 01:00:00 AM MST
Gov. Bill Ritter's proposal to make gun buyers pay for their own criminal
background checks hit a snag Thursday when Republicans on the Joint Budget
Committee refused to support it.
The proposal might not go far after that, said Rep. Jack Pommer, the
committee's chairman.
Ritter, a Democrat, in August proposed a number of measures to help balance
the budget in the current fiscal year that ends in June. Included in those
items was a proposal to impose a $10.50 fee on gun purchases to pay the cost
of criminal background checks, which the state currently covers.
The fee would have generated an estimated $557,000 over four months in the
current budget year and about $1.6 million when imposed for a full year.
Typically, budget-balancing measures go before the JBC, and if the panel
gives a unanimous thumbs up, the bill is sponsored with the whole
committee's blessing.
But Rep. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, and Sen. Al White, R-Hayden, said
they would oppose the idea.
Lambert compared the proposed fee to a poll tax on gun owners, and White
called it "an onerous burden."
Pommer, a Boulder Democrat, said the idea might not find support in the full
House or Senate, even among Democrats.
"I have a feeling it's not going anywhere. It's just a hot potato," Pommer
said, adding, "It's frustrating because I think it's unfair to all the
people like teachers who do pay for their own background checks." Tim
Hoover, The Denver Post
Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/legislature/ci_14243039#ixzz0dMWlXx8H
Sincere Regards,
Tim R. Brown
Legislative Director
Colorado State Shooting Association
The Denver Post reports that a Democrat proposal led by Gov. Ritter to
charge gun purchasers a $10.50 fee to pay for state-mandated background
checks has met with opposition from Republican members of the Joint Budget
Committee. Both Sen. Al White (R-Hayden) and Rep. Kent Lambert (R-Colo.
Springs) have stated they oppose the measure as an unfair burden on gun
owners. Lambert likened the proposal to a poll tax, i.e. making people pay
to exercise a Constitutional right. The Post's report went on to relate
that the measure was meeting with little support from General Assembly
members of both parties. The state checks, conducted by CBI, were mandated
in 1998; gun owners were promised by legislators that the state would fund
the additional cost of these checks. Last year, Gov. Ritter vetoed a bill
that would have greatly reduced the number of background checks by exempting
concealed carry permit holders, who undergo a much more stringent check
before obtaining their permits. Furthermore, ninety percent of states
exclusively use the National Instant Check System, which costs nothing.
This proposed fee (actually a tax: ANY funds extracted from the citizens for
the government coffers) is similar to the Poll Taxes imposed on blacks and
poor whites in the South after the Civil War in that it will infringe on the
exercise of a Constitutional right - in this case, the 2nd Amendment.
Remember that our Founding Fathers saw these rights as PRE-EXISTING RIGHTS
which the government has a DUTY to RECOGNIZE and PROTECT. Anti-gun liberals
and socialists today would have you believe that human rights are granted,
and continue, at the discretion of the government, and this is an outright
lie.
Please contact your State Senator and Representative, as well as Gov. Ritter
(303-866-2471), and voice your opposition to this proposed tax on your basic
Constitutional right to keep and bear arms! Please also thank Sen. White
(303-866-2586) and Rep. Lambert (303-866-2937) for standing strong for your
rights.
Please refer to the Denver Post article below:
State proposal to have gun buyers pay for background checks hits snag
The Denver Post
Posted: 01/22/2010 01:00:00 AM MST
Gov. Bill Ritter's proposal to make gun buyers pay for their own criminal
background checks hit a snag Thursday when Republicans on the Joint Budget
Committee refused to support it.
The proposal might not go far after that, said Rep. Jack Pommer, the
committee's chairman.
Ritter, a Democrat, in August proposed a number of measures to help balance
the budget in the current fiscal year that ends in June. Included in those
items was a proposal to impose a $10.50 fee on gun purchases to pay the cost
of criminal background checks, which the state currently covers.
The fee would have generated an estimated $557,000 over four months in the
current budget year and about $1.6 million when imposed for a full year.
Typically, budget-balancing measures go before the JBC, and if the panel
gives a unanimous thumbs up, the bill is sponsored with the whole
committee's blessing.
But Rep. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, and Sen. Al White, R-Hayden, said
they would oppose the idea.
Lambert compared the proposed fee to a poll tax on gun owners, and White
called it "an onerous burden."
Pommer, a Boulder Democrat, said the idea might not find support in the full
House or Senate, even among Democrats.
"I have a feeling it's not going anywhere. It's just a hot potato," Pommer
said, adding, "It's frustrating because I think it's unfair to all the
people like teachers who do pay for their own background checks." Tim
Hoover, The Denver Post
Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/legislature/ci_14243039#ixzz0dMWlXx8H
Sincere Regards,
Tim R. Brown
Legislative Director
Colorado State Shooting Association