Paper and Ink tax vs. Ball and Powder tax

There is no secret that the government, failing to enact the type of gun restrictions it has been hoping for, has found a new way to prevent the use of firearms for anything but door-stops. They have determined that they can tax the ammo, or components of that ammo, at such a rate that a man can no longer afford to use a firearm.
This constitutes a "paper and ink" tax, which has already been struck down in Minnesota and has threatened to put "Student" newspapers out of business in California.
Article 1
Article 2

If the government cannot shut you up, they regulate you into silence. While it isn't common for the Paper and Ink tax to be instituted, and not at a high enough rate to prevent people from being able to express themselves, it is becoming more common for bloggers (like myself) to find themselves on the wrong end of the law. As if we really had to have a "press credential" to be able to report news, discuss our feelings and opinions openly, or investigate stories for discussion and informational purposes. The DMCA contains language to allow News Papers and other News publishers to force "free lance" bloggers into silence. Imagine that, those fighting for Free Speech fighting to silence individuals.

It all boils down to the same essence: the right to Free Speech is a "collective right" given to the Press only - the right to Bear Arms is a "collective right" given to the military only. What does this mean? That we can only do what the Government will allow us, regardless on who's RIGHT it is...

I (and the Founding Fathers) have a different view of this. Our Rights PRE-EXIST the Constitution, and the Constitution was devised as a method to Protect those Rights from our Government.

The right to free speech is regulated (and rightly so) to some degree...this prevents someone from entering a crowded movie theater and yelling "fire" when no fire exists. This kind of panic could cause the deaths or injury of hundreds of people, and infringes on those people's rights to NOT be injured or killed. One against the Many.
The same holds true for Felons and Firearms, although, I believe even that is too "general"...It should only prevent Convicted Violent Criminals from owning firearms. A felony for Fraud is different than a felony for Murder. But we still restrict this person from owning a firearm, because the Right for people to feel safe is greater than the right of the violent criminal to own a gun.

However, currently, according to the CDC, Alcohol and Tobacco are EACH more of a danger to the life and security of innocents than any firearm.

One must wonder why so much time, effort, energy, and money are being spent on the restriction of firearms when there are clearly more important issues to deal with.

All this proposed taxing schema will do is cost millions to fight in court on both sides. Another way for the Government to waste our tax dollars, especially in a time of hardship.

Another proposal is to serialize each component in the ammo making process. This will prove costly for everyone involved. It is intended as a way to trace ammo that is used in a crime, but in reality its is another restriction on your rights. It also makes instant criminals out of normally law abiding citizens (but this has never stopped California...)

Not to mention that NONE of these proposals will do anything to the Criminal, except make them find a new way around the law. After all, they said the same thing for putting cameras all over Miami, and to date (I believe it is 3 or 4 years running now) there have been NO arrests of criminals due to the cameras, face recognition, or any other reasoning they gave for their installation.
The same will hold true for these laws, regulations and taxes.

However, this won't stop the Government from trying.

My advice...
Fight for Net Neutrality and Blogger Rights
Fight for Freedom of Speech
Fight for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Fight for your Right to not be harassed by your Government

Go buy your reloading supplies now. Buy your guns, get prepared. At a minimum, it will be a long, hard 4 years...worst case scenario, it will be a long, hard 8 years...
And if we don't wise up in the next 4 - 8 years, it could even go longer.