Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

NRA Sues Seattle Over Tax On Guns And Ammunition

Seth Perlman
/
AP Photo

Gun rights organizations, including the National Rifle Association, are suing the city of Seattleover its new tax on guns and ammo. The tax amounts to $25 for each firearm sold in the city, plus 5 cents for every round of ammunition. The groups say the tax violates Washington state law.

Bellevue, Washington-based Second Amendment foundation is one of the groups suing. Spokesman Dave Workman says the problem with Seattle’s tax on ammunition and guns is it violates Washington’s preemption law.

“The Washington state preemption law places sole authority for the regulation of firearms in the hands of the state legislature,” Workman said.

The state law, RCW-9.41.290, which was passed by the legislature in the 1980’s, was intended to ensure uniformity of gun laws across the state.

Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes has argued that the gun violence tax, as supporters call it, falls within Seattle’s taxing authority.

But, the gun rights groups say there is a precedent for the case they’re making.

In 2009, the groups went to court and successfully challenged Seattle's ban on guns in city parks using the same argument that the state, not the city, has the right to pass gun laws.

Paula is a former host, reporter and producer who retired from KNKX in 2021. She joined the station in 1989 as All Things Considered host and covered the Law and Justice beat for 15 years. Paula grew up in Idaho and, prior to KNKX, worked in public radio and television in Boise, San Francisco and upstate New York.