Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced a bill on Monday that, if passed, would give a $2,000 tax credit, over a two-year period, for owners of “assault weapons” who turn their guns in to police.
According to DeLauro, the proposed legislation, called the SAFER (Support Assault Firearm Elimination and Reduction) Street Act, “is based on an idea that was brought to me by a small-business man in my district” who is a veteran and the owner of an AR-15 rifle.
“There really isn’t any reason to have one of these weapons other than to kill a high number of people in a very short time,” DeLauro said. “One in five officers who has died in the line of duty was killed by an assault weapon… These assault weapons in a home are a recipe for tragedy.”
DeLauro explained that the tax credit idea seemed better than a gun-buyback program because of the high cost of assault weapons, generally between $800 and $5,000.
“What we want to try to do here is create an incentive and do it at the level of $2,000 to encourage people to turn in those weapons,” she said.
On her website, DeLauro wrote:
We need to establish a stronger, more comprehensive system of criminal background checks for all gun purchasers. We must make gun trafficking a federal crime. And we need to ensure better access to quality mental health care, and strengthen programs and funding so that all our communities have mental health resources for those in need.
DeLauro also said that she supports a renewal of the assault-weapons ban that was in effect between 1994 and 2004.
Regarding President Obama’s executive orders on gun control, DeLauro said:
The plan President Obama announced today is a strong first step, but now Congress needs to take action. Several critical ideas the President outlined, such as closing background check loopholes and banning military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines need legislative action to be reality. We should waste no time moving forward on these proposals.
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