Colorado “Sin Tax” On Guns, Ammo Is In The NRA’s Sights
If Colorado’s so-called “sin tax” on ammunition and firearms has got you irritated, there’s good news: The NRA is finally stepping up with a lawsuit against the state’s government, trying to force them to drop the additional fees that are being charged on all ammo sold in the Centennial State.
Courtroom Battles @ TFB:
The background
Colorado’s sin tax (officially, they call it the Firearms & Ammunition Tax) was run before voters as Proposition KK in the fall of 2024 and passed. The state says it is an excise tax on all taxable sales of gun dealers, gun manufacturers and ammunition vendors that applies to any firearm, firearm precursor part or ammunition that is sold in the state of Colorado (private sales aren’t affected).
The revenue is supposed to be spent on mental health services in that state. You can see the original form of the bill that was voted on here.
Now, the tax has come into effect as of April 1, 2025. As a result, all sales of ammo and guns see a 6.5 percent tax tacked on.
The push back
Even before the new tax came into effect, the NRA announced it would fight back with a lawsuit. The organization’s executive director, John Commerford, said this was an “overt assault on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Coloradans and a deliberate attempt to discourage the exercise of constitutionally protected freedoms.” So, they’re joining with other 2A advocates to fight the tax.
The NRA explains their thinking this way:
“The United States Supreme Court recognized long ago that a right to tax is essentially a power to destroy. Thus, the Court has repeatedly held that the exercise of a constitutional right cannot be singled out for special taxation. But Colorado’s law does precisely that, penalizing Coloradans for exercising their constitutional right to keep and bear arms through an infringement-by-taxation scheme.
“Our complaint argues that the tax violates the Second Amendment. We seek a declaratory judgment stating that the tax is unconstitutional and a permanent injunction forbidding its enforcement.”
The lawsuit, Langston v. Humphreys, was filed in Denver County District Court, said the NRA release.
