Second Amendment Measures Would Create Firearms Safety Tax Credits, Drop Prohibition-Era Regulations on Short-Barreled Rifles
U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) is cosponsoring a pair of Second Amendment-related bills to promote firearm safety through tax credits and to remove Prohibition-era regulations on short-barreled rifles.
Hyde-Smith on Wednesday joined Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) to introduce the Firearms Safety Act and the Home Defense and Competitive Shooting Act.
“Firearms laws can be reformed, just not in any way that threatens our Second Amendment rights,” Hyde-Smith said. “This pair of bills would create incentives for more people to learn firearm safety and also eliminate outdated federal red tape and taxes on some guns. Both are good policy and have my full support.”
The first measure, the Firearms Safety Act, would create a non-refundable tax credit for taking a firearms safety course and/or purchasing a gun safe. The legislation would:
- Credit gun owners up to $100 annually for taking a firearm safety course, concealed carry firearms course, or other training, license, and permit programs taught by a state-certified instructor or issued under the authority of state law.
- Credit for gun owners up to $100 every ten years to apply toward the purchase of a gun safe used for securing their weapons.
- Prohibit the Internal Revenue Service from requiring information to be provided to the federal government with respect to the firearm.
The second bill, the Home Defense and Competitive Shooting Act, would remove Prohibition-era regulations placed on short-barreled rifles (SBR) by the National Firearms Act of 1934. SBR are firearms with barrels of less than 16 inches in length. The legislation would:
- Eliminate the prohibition on the transportation of SBR in the interstate commerce;
- Preempt state or local laws imposing a tax on SBR; and
- Preempt state or local laws imposing licensing requirements on SBR such as fingerprints and Chief Law Enforcement Officer signatures; and instead classify and regulate SBR under the same restrictions as other semiautomatic rifles.
The National Rifle Association supports both measures.
Press Release
3/18/2021
