A bill authored by a pair of Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin proposes a sales tax exemption on gun safes to encourage secure storage practices among gun owners throughout the state. Unlike typical efforts to increase awareness of the importance of safe storage, this measure does not propose fines or punishment but rather acts as an incentive, making safe ownership more affordable for Wisconsin gun owners. 

State Representative Adam Neylon and Senator Van Wanggaard authored the proposal in hopes of curbing accidental deaths and suicides throughout the state by making sure unauthorized individuals are unable to access firearms that should otherwise be out of reach. 

“We are offering this legislation to encourage people to store guns securely, and keep children safe from accidental injury, death and suicide. Simply put, this bill promotes responsible gun safety,” Neylon and Wanggaard said in a joint statement.

Wisconsin firearm deaths have increased in recent years, with the most recent data documenting more than 800 deaths from gunshot wounds in 2022. Keep in mind, however, that suicides were the largest category of Wisconsin firearm deaths, accounting for 71 out of every 100, or over 500 of those documented incidents in 2022, a record high for the state. The statistic highlights the pivotal role of mental health in the vast majority of these deaths.

Relative to the statistics, accidental shootings involving children are a rare tragedy that gun safes are particularly useful in preventing. 

Support for the bill from across the aisle came just hours after its proposal, with Democratic Representatives Lisa Subeck and Deb Andraca both signing on as co-sponsors of the measure, according to their offices. 

“While there is much we need to do to prevent these deaths, increasing access to gun safes and promoting safe storage is the very least we can do,” Subeck said. 

Don’t go down the path thinking that all Democrats care about the safety and well-being of their constituents and perhaps may be concerned with mental health issues as a root cause of violence and suicide, however. Representative Andraca, ever the opportunist, stepped in to conflate the productive idea of tax exemption as an incentive with the notorious leftist ruse of disguising Second Amendment infringement as “common-sense gun safety laws.”

“I hope this bill signals a new willingness by my Republican colleagues to work together and finally pass common-sense gun safety laws to keep Wisconsinites safe,” Andraca said as if on cue.

A similar bill was proposed in 2019 that received bipartisan support but did not advance out of committee as the Wisconsin Department of Revenue estimated that it would have resulted in a loss of tax revenue for the state of $309,000.

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers included a budget measure in 2023 that would have given tax exemption to gun safes, trigger and barrel locks as part of a larger firearms-related package, though the bill did not pass. Last month, Evers created a new office within the state Department of Administration tasked specifically with reducing shootings after a December 2024 school shooting that took place in Madison. In addition to pledging $10 million towards the endeavor, earmarked for distribution to school districts, city and county officials, firearm dealers and nonprofit groups, the Democratic governor is also promising sweeping firearms-related proposals in the 2025-2027 budget, urging the Republican-controlled Legislature to pass gun control measures that have been previously defeated. 

Leave it to Democratic lawmakers to take something good, like an incentive that does not amount to an authoritarian attempt to infringe on Constitutional rights, and use it to push their anti-Second Amendment gun control agenda. It is thus far unclear if the packages mentioned by Governor Evers will include the measure to exempt gun safes from Wisconsin sales tax, however, it is noteworthy to mention that such exemptions currently exist in Washington, Tennessee, Massachusetts and Texas.