The election of Barack Obama as President of the United States has triggered a firestorm of activity on the part of law-abiding gun owners. Legitimate concerns about the passage of gun control legislation have caused a spike in sales of firearms and ammunition since last November. Fears of new or reintroduced gun control legislation have spread across the internet. In most cases, these are credible warnings of proposed or impending gun laws. But we are also seeing unfounded rumors or exaggerations being spread without proper fact-checking before they are passed on. A good example of this is the case of “SB 2099,†an alleged bill that would require gun owners to list their handguns on their annual IRS tax return, AND pay a $50 tax per handgun. Like all great lies, this one is built around a kernel of truth: S. 2099 was filed in the U.S. Senate — in February 2001. It was assigned to a committee, where it died. There is no current, pending legislation (as this is written) that would impose such a reporting requirement or tax. If a warning comes from a recognized gun rights advocacy organization, you can count on it to be accurate. If it’s something that you heard from a friend of a friend of a friend, take a moment to check it out. Specific federal bill numbers can be researched at the Congressional web site at http://thomas.loc.gov. Most states have similar legislative web sites where state bills may be researched. If you still have questions about a bill, call us at (425) 454-4911 and ask. If you have some more specific questions about a bill, call your U.S. Representative or at least one of your two U.S. Senators, or your state Representative or state Senator, and ask. Their telephone numbers may be found in the blue “Government†pages of your telephone directory.
