Letters to the Editor: Will a tax on gun dealers and manufacturers save lives in California?

To the editor: As a former paramedic and firefighter, I applaud the California Senate for passing AB 28. As survivors, families, communities and taxpayers, we all pay the enormous costs associated with gun violence, whether we own a firearm or not. The gun industry continues to reap historic profits while its products fuel a costly public health epidemic. Instead of letting firearm-related profits solely benefit the gun industry, this bill would impose a modest 11% excise tax on gun sellers and manufacturers to fund programs remediating and mitigating the harms firearms too often cause in our communities.

Having worked on the frontlines of this epidemic, I know what it looks like when bullets ravage a body and the pain survivors feel in the wake of this violence. I never will be able to unsee these things, but I can see Gov. Newsom signing this bill and in doing so, saving lives.

Michelle Petersen, Alamo

..

To the editor: Recently, the California Legislature passed a measure to tax firearms and ammunition. It will be bitterly opposed and do little to reduce gun violence.

Requiring gun owners to insure their guns against injuries to others caused by their use would be more effective. The gun owner would face a large fine if his uninsured weapon caused injury to another. There could also be a modest fine for the open carrying of an uninsured firearm. This proposal would cause owners to secure their weapons more assuredly, or consider seriously insuring their weapons, and it would provide a fund to partially compensate those injured by firearms. The insurance companies would salivate to expand with this new area of business.

John Neill, San Diego

..

To the editor: As a UC Davis student and Glendale native, I’m thrilled that Assembly Bill 28 passed in the state Senate. This summer, I saw the exceptional work that violence intervention programs do firsthand when I worked with Urban Peace Institute to spotlight their work to high school student activists. From de-escalation on city streets to rehabilitative programs like yoga, which our students loved trying, these programs that would receive funding from AB 28 make our city safer and save lives.

It’s been so rewarding volunteering with other students to pass this bill, including spending hours in a committee hearing to testify in support last April. I can’t wait for Gov. Newsom to sign it so that no more students have to accept gun violence as a daily fact of life.

Roan Thibault, Montrose