A new bill in the Ohio Legislature calls for exempting guns and ammunition from state sales tax.
Republican state Rep. Al Cutrona (R-Canfield) and GOP state Sen. Tim Schaffer (R-Lancaster) are sponsoring the bill. Cutrona said it’s only fair because gun ownership is a Second Amendment right.
“We don’t tax our newspapers, and you know newspapers are protected under the First Amendment. And I think that on the Second Amendment, we should also remove the sales tax on guns and ammunition," Cutrona said.
Schaffer said Ohio also needs this bill to stay competitive with West Virginia, which already passed a similar law.
“We don’t want our Ohio retailers to be hurt, particularly those along the border," Schaffer said.
Moms Demand Action of Ohio opposes the new bill. On its Facebook page, the group says, "Ohio has the 17th highest rate of gun violence in the U.S., and yet our legislators want to increase access to guns." The post urges the group's supporters to take action and let their lawmakers know where they stand on the issue.
It's likely those who want to rein in legislation making it easier to own and carry guns in Ohio will clash on this bill at some point in the future when the public is given the opportunity to testify for and against it.
The bill is new and hasn't had a committee hearing.
