Rapid fire guns can be taxed ~ Texas opinion echo letter

Rapid fire assault weapons of mass destruction should be un-affordable. Tax them. An echo letter to the editor  published in the Corpus Christie newspaper the Caller-Times.

The excise tax is time-honored and was first used in colonial times to pay off the debts incurred by the American Revolution. This tax may be levied by any state, county or municipality by a vote of the governing body. It exists today on products such as alcohol, tobacco and gasoline but also exists in the hidden form of real estate and school taxes. 

These special taxes are paid and included in the purchase price and may be in any amount, often called a luxury or sin tax.

If the city or county were to levy an excise tax of $1,000 on each military-style semiautomatic rifle, it would bring the total price of the weapon to about $2,000, well out of the price range of the average school child. For the avid hunter or gun collector the extra cost would be insignificant and would not interfere with his or her legal hunting of coyotes or feral hogs.

We must do something to provide our school children with a safe environment in which to study and learn. "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." (Chinese proverb)

Joseph C. Rupp, M.D., retired Nueces County Medical Examiner