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Maryland hearing on proposed firearm excise tax draws broad testimony for violence-prevention funding
Summary
Delegate Bernice Mireku-North asked the House Ways and Means Committee on Feb. 13 to create a dedicated revenue stream for gun-violence prevention and victim services by imposing an 11% excise tax on firearm sales, a proposal that supporters say would fund hospitals and community programs and opponents say would penalize lawful owners and small businesses.
Delegate Bernice Mireku-North, a sponsor of House Bill 387, urged the Ways and Means Committee on Feb. 13 to create a dedicated funding stream for gun-violence prevention and survivor services by imposing an excise tax on firearm sales and directing the revenue to hospital readiness, community intervention and victim supports.
Mireku-North said the bill would create an 11% excise tax on firearms sold in Maryland and on larger out-of-state sellers who meet thresholds for sales to Maryland residents. “This bill provides sustained funding for evidence-based prevention and intervention, addressing trauma and the root causes of gun violence,” Mireku-North said.
The bill’s sponsor and a coalition of public-health and victim-advocacy witnesses told the committee the state’s hospital systems and community…
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