New York sportsmen: Contact your state senators and tell them to vote “NO on SB 63.” Let your senator know that it is unfair to target hunters and legal gun owners to fund criminal justice research. New York members can contact their state legislator by using the Sportsmen’s Alliance Legislative Action Center.

A New York City Senator wants to tax gun purchases to fund research on violence in the state. Senator Brad Holyman (D-Manhattan) introduced Senate Bill 63, which would add an additional fee of five dollars to each firearm purchase by the University of New York and the state Department of Health. The fee would be used to fund gun-violence research. SB 63 is still waiting to be heard in the Senate Investigations and Government Operations Committee.

Senate Bill 63 follows an alarming trend in which gun owners and sportsmen are held financially responsible for the actions of criminals. Crime and violence prevention is a concern for all citizens, and funding programs aimed at these issues should be borne by all citizens rather than scapegoating a certain segment of those law-abiding citizens. 

SB 63 leaves the tax open ended, and does not specify when the need for the research funding will come to an end.

About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research.  Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.