Guns and Gear

State lawmaker proposes tax-free holiday for gun purchases on Texas Independence Day

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Texas State Rep. Jeff Leach has proposed making Texas Independence Day a tax-free holiday for guns, ammo and hunting supplies, in an effort to promote Second Amendment rights both nationally and locally.

Leach’s legislation, “The Texas Gun Ownership Reinforcement Act,” filed earlier this week, would exempt sales taxes on Texas Independence Day for items like shotguns, rifles, pistols, and other handguns, as well as gun supplies, optics, ammunition, archery equipment, hunting stands, blinds and decoys.  Texas Independence Day is March 2.

“Texas must take the lead in the fight against the federal government’s attempts to infringe on our Second Amendment rights,” Leach, a Republican, said in a statement, adding that encouraging lawful gun ownership will benefit taxpayers and spur economic growth.

“As we fight against the federal government’s overreach, there is no more appropriate day to instate this tax-free holiday than on Texas Independence Day,” he said.

Leach’s legislation, which currently has four Republican co-authors and has NRA support, comes as lawmakers in Washington, D.C. consider additional gun control measures.

“Given that our federal government is unrelenting in their goal to strip our constitutional right to bear arms, I am honored to take a stand with my colleague, Representative Leach, towards the passage of this legislation to remind federal elected leaders and taxpaying citizens that our Second Amendment rights are fully recognized and supported in the great State of Texas,” Speaker Pro Tem Dennis Bonnen, one of the bill’s co-authors, added in a statement.

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