The City of Seattle has the legal authority to enact a $25 per firearm tax on retailers to address the costs of gun violence, the Washington Supreme Court ruled in a decision issued Thursday that upheld a trial court finding in December 2015.
The ordinance, championed by City Councilmember Tim Burgess and defended by City Attorney Pete Holmes, is not pre-empted by a state law that deals specifically with the regulation of guns, as the City ordinance levies a tax on the sale of firearms and ammunition.
“Seattle Ordinance 124833 is constitutionally valid and not preempted by RCW 9 .41.290. Under Covell, the Ordinance imposes a tax because its primary purpose is to raise revenue for the public benefit. That tax is specifically authorized under RCW 35.22.280(32), which grants first class cities broad tax powers, including the authority to levy a flat tax on gun sales. Finally, the Ordinance is not preempted by RCW 9 .41.290 because the plain meaning of the statutory text excludes taxation from its preemptive scope,” the court said in its 8-1 decision.
“I’m grateful our Supreme Court recognized the challenges the state’s largest city faces in protecting its residents from gun violence,” City Attorney Pete Holmes said, “and the need to identify sufficient revenue sources to fund its core missions.”
“We are very gratified by the Supreme Court’s clear decision in favor of the City of Seattle,” said William Abrams of Steptoe & Johnson, who argued the case pro bono for the City. “The Court affirmed the City’s right to raise revenue, despite the NRA’s attempt to block the City’s tax on gun sales. This is an important victory for the citizens of Seattle, and against the NRA’s attack on a city ordinance that the Supreme Court held, in no uncertain terms, is valid.”