Court upholds county tax on guns, ammo

By Chris Eger

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, podium, applauded the decision on Wednesday, saying it protected the county’s home rule powers without affecting gun rights. (Photo: Toni Preckwinkle/Twitter)
A mandatory tax on firearms and ammo sold over the counter in Cook County, Illinois has withstood a legal challenge.
The $25 per gun and up to 5-cents per round tax was challenged by a group of Second Amendment advocates, firearm retailers and gun owners who argued it amounted to an illegal poll tax on the constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. County officials, in turn, countered that they were just exercising their Home Rule powers under state law, not trampling gun rights, and the court last week agreed.
“Plaintiffs provide no evidence that the Tax will have the effect of preventing their ownership or possession of firearms or that it affects the ability of law-abiding citizens to retain sufficient means of self-defense. said David B. Atkins, an associate judge on the Cook Judicial Circuit Court who sided with the county and dismissed the suit. Atkins went on to contend that, since the tax did not ban firearms or outright restrict their ownership or possession, it did not violate the Second Amendment. Atkins added:

Source: Guns.com