Officials in Illinois' Cook County are eyeing a so-called "violence tax" on guns and ammo -- a move aimed at curbing violence and closing the budget gap, but one that's drawing a rebuke from the gun lobby.
MyFoxChicago.com
reports that homicides in Chicago are up 25 percent this year, and some officials in surrounding Cook County are looking to use such a tax to curb the number of guns in circulation.
But NRA lobbyist Todd Vandermyde told the Chicago Sun-Times it's "just another example of the blame game."
"Chicago and Cook County has a gun violence problem, Chicago's got a high high school drop-out rate, they've got a drug problem, they've got a gang problem, but they want to make legal gun owners, guys like me, the scapegoat," he said.
The Sun-Times reports that Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is leading the charge for the tax, though the specific amount is unclear.
