This fall, only one state—Colorado—will have a gun-related initiative on the ballot, according to The Trace, in an in-depth analysis that analyzes initiatives in other states that failed to make it to the ballot. Unlike many past efforts driven by citizen groups, the Colorado measure was introduced by lawmakers. The initiative proposes a 6.5% tax on the manufacture and retail sale of guns and ammunition, which would be paid by gunmakers and dealers. Expected to raise $39 million annually, the funds will be directed toward crime victim programs and mental health services. Democratic Governor Jared Polis signed the measure in June, and it now requires a simple majority from voters to become law. Gunmakers and dealers are already subject to a federal tax of 10 percent on handguns and 11 percent on long guns and ammunition. To date, California is the only state with a separate tax on guns, enacted last year. A separate Colorado initiative would have prevented law enforcement from denying marijuana users permits to carry concealed guns, but the sponsors failed to gather enough signatures by the August 5 deadline.
Gun control initiatives are proposed at the local level, too. But in many states, there are legal obstacles to local governments enforcing their own gun laws. Earlier this year, Memphis City Council members proposed initiatives to reinstate a concealed carry permit requirement, ban semiautomatic rifles, and establish a red flag law to temporarily disarm people deemed a threat to themselves or others. But those measures would conflict with state law. The Tennessee Legislature enacted permitless carry in 2021 and, more recently, passed a bill banning local governments from enforcing red flag laws. The state also has a preemption law that prohibits local governments from enacting gun regulations that are stricter than the state’s. State GOP lawmakers threatened to withhold state funding if Memphis’s initiatives went on the ballot, and election officials initially decided to leave them off. But the City Council sued the election board, and last week, a judge ruled in the city’s favor.
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