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MISCELLANEOUS RESOLUTION # 15110
BY: Commissioner John Scott, District #5; Commissioner Michael Spisz, District #3; Commissioner Bill
Dwyer, District #14; Commissioner Janet Jackson, District #21 4tV-4A- C-LIU iftl•rc on B
IN RE: BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS - SALES TAX EXEMPTION FOR THE PURCHASE OF
FIREARMS SAFETY AND STORAGE DEVICES
To the Oakland County Board of Commissioners
Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen:
WHEREAS the proper and secure storage of firearms is a proven method to reduce unintentional deaths,
youth suicides and criminal trafficking of weapons; and
WHEREAS a study of firearm storage patterns in U.S. homes found that "[o]f the homes with children and
firearms, 55% were reported to have one or more firearms in an unlocked place," and
WHEREAS "keeping a firearm unloaded and locked, with the ammunition stored in a locked location
separate from the firearm, significantly decreases the risk of suicide and unintentional firearm injury and
death involving both long guns and handguns", according to a study published in the Journal of the
American Medical Association(JAMA); and
WHEREAS a separate study published in JAMA found that "direct medical costs of unintentional firearm-
related injuries range from $2.3 to $4.0 billion annually"; and
WHEREAS a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms analysis found that 35 percent of the 76,260
guns used in crimes committed by 18 to 24 year olds during a 3-year period had been stolen from private
residences or gun dealer; and
WHEREAS the States of Washington, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut have exempted the
sales tax on the purchase of gun safes and locks to encourage responsible gun ownership practices; and
WHEREAS the Lok-It-Up program in King County, Washington has demonstrated the success of an
incentive to promote firearms storage - within 6 months of launching a discount program, over 6,000 lock
boxes were purchased; and
WHEREAS responsible gun owners may be discouraged from purchasing effective, tested and approved
gun safes due to their high cost; and
WHEREAS a sales tax exemption would provide a significant incentive for responsible gun ownership
practices and reduce the cost to purchase gun safes and storage devices.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the Oakland County Board of Commissioners calls upon the
Michigan Legislature to adopt legislation creating a sales and use tax exemption for the purchase of
tested and approved firearms safety and storage devices.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the County of Oakland is directed to submit a copy of this
resolution to the Office of the Governor, Senate Majority and Minority Leaders, the House Speaker and
Minority Leader, the Michigan Association of Counties and members of the Oakland County delegation to
the Michigan Legislature
Chairperson, ,41000,115vadoption, f the foregoing Resolution.
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Resolution #15110 April 23, 2015
The Chairperson referred the resolution to the General Government Committee. There were no
objections.