Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) and 18 other House Democrats have proposed legislation that would impose a 10 percent tax on concealable firearms and use this revenue to fund federal grants for gun buyback programs.



"For far too long we have watched gun violence shatter the lives of thousands of families every year, and it is time to stand up and protect our children and our communities," Sanchez said Thursday.

ADVERTISEMENT

"It is time to give our law enforcement agencies all the necessary resources to prevent gun violence, and that starts by funding anti-violence campaigns, gun safety campaigns and firearms buyback programs," she said. "The Firearm Safety and Buyback Grant Act is a positive first step toward getting unwanted guns off the street and preventing gun violence from ripping apart another family."



Under her bill, H.R. 793, the 10 percent tax would be applied to concealable guns as they are now defined in U.S. law. The tax would be paid by the seller of these weapons, though the tax would not be collected on concealable guns bought by federal, state or local governments.



Money collected through this new tax would help fund expanded federal grants that would help states create new gun buyback programs or boost existing ones. The bill would also appropriate $1 million in 2013 for this purpose.



A statement released by Sanchez quoted Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, who said he supports the bill in light of the success of the gun buyback program in his county. "Getting one gun off the street may save a life and that is worth it," Baca said.

