Alarmed by recent mass shootings in Orange, Boulder in Colorado, and Atlanta area, California lawmakers advanced a new tax proposal on the sale of guns and ammunition in the state on Tuesday to increase the funds for violence prevention programs.

Based on the legislation proposed by Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-San Rafael), a $25 excise tax on retailers would be imposed for each sale of new guns, and a certain percentage of tax yet to be determined for the ammunition, NRA-ILA reported.

According to Los Angeles Times, Levine told the Parliamentary Public Safety Commission that gun-related violence would not end on its own during a hearing on Tuesday.

He also emphasized that lawmakers must take responsible action to end gun violence in the state and the rest of the country.

Levine pointed out that the numbers are not just statistics as they are human lives. He added that there were more than 100 mass shootings recorded across the U.S. in the span of three months this year.

The panel voted 5 to 2 together with party lines in approving the legislation. But it still needs approval from the full Assembly.

The gun tax was backed by lawmakers who cited a string of mass shootings that includes one on Wednesday at an office park in Orange. The gunman killed four individuals, including a nine-year-old boy.

Also, on March 22, another gunman opened fire at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, which resulted in the death of 10 individuals, including a police officer, The Washington Post reported. 

On March 16, or days before the Boulder shooting incident, a gunman also killed eight people at three Atlanta-area spas. Among the victims were six women of Asian descent.

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Tax Burden

The National Rifle Association (NRA), a gun rights advocacy group, is against the legislation. The group told the lawmakers that the gun tax was an unconstitutional attempt to limit American citizens' ability to buy firearms for their protection.

The western regional director of the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, Daniel Reid, said the legislation would only affect those law-abiding citizens, and the gun tax would make it even more difficult for them to buy firearms for protection.

Reid added that those who will be affected are those individuals living in high-crime communities, underserved, who cannot protect themselves and their families.

Even Tom Lackey, a Republican Assemblyman of Palmdale and the committee's vice chairman, contradicted the proposal. He pointed out that the new gun tax would be too much as the state already gets around $6 million yearly from fees related to firearms.

But the executive director of the advocacy group Gun Owners of California, Sam Paredes, stressed that the new tax is aimed at discouraging people from buying firearms. Lawmakers, who backed the tax proposal, noted that the people in the state are buying guns at an alarming record pace.

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