City officials in Chicago are considering a proposed “violence tax” on guns and ammunition in hopes that it will help shade in the gray areas of a $115 million black hole in the city’s budget and police the number of guns in circulation on the streets. This has Second Amendment supporters ticked off because sources say the proposed tax will increase the prices of these items exponentially, even though no one yet knows what the tax would be.

The summer was particularly violent in Chicago, which saw its murder rate jump 25 percent. The proposed guns-and-ammo levy generated political interest after the city conducted a study that found almost a third of the guns confiscated on the streets had originally been obtained legally through local gun shops.

Some residents are concerned that the proposed tax will not take a bite out of crime. "If we can tax cigarettes, it seems we can tax bullets and guns," said Chicago resident Cathryn Taylor. "But at the same time, I get the point that if people are buying the stuff illegally, then the tax doesn't matter because they aren't going through legal channels anyway."

The proposed tax is scheduled to be introduced sometime next week.

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