Today and Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee will hear House Bill 2166, to exempt firearms and firearm safety equipment from sales tax, and House Bill 2473, to discourage banks from discriminating against the firearm industry. Please use the Request to Speak application (RTS) on the Arizona State Legislature website, to ask committee members to SUPPORT House Bills 2166 and 2473. RTS is the most efficient and effective way to contact committee members regarding Second Amendment legislation. It is imperative that you create an account and continue utilizing this tool throughout the 2022 legislative session.

House Bill 2166 exempts firearms and firearm safety equipment, such as gun safes and gun locks, from state transaction privilege and use taxes. This recognizes that the government should not be placing additional cost barriers on citizens who wish to exercise their Second Amendment rights, and who wish to safely store their firearms.

House Bill 2473 prohibits public entities from entering into contracts worth $100,000 or greater with businesses, unless they certify that they do not discriminate against firearm businesses. Anti-gun banks and their executives have expressed interest in denying services to the firearm industry as a way to further their political agenda and impose gun control by making such business impossible when legislatures won’t bend to their will. Banks should evaluate firearm businesses like any other business and consider financial risk, rather than ideology, in their decisions on providing services. This ensures that Arizona taxpayer money does not go to such businesses.

In addition, another pro-gun bill from the House continues to advance in the Senate. Yesterday, the Senate Rules Committee passed House Bill 2448. It requires school districts to offer age-appropriate firearm safety instruction to students in grades six through twelve. This legislation will help empower youths with this basic knowledge of respecting firearms “from a qualified individual with a focus on safety rather than from popular culture and various forms of media.”

Again, please use the Request to Speak application (RTS) on the Arizona State Legislature website to ask the committee to SUPPORT HB 2166 and HB 2473.