Gun rights organization, firearm supply retailer, and individual resident of county brought action against county and related defendants for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief challenging county ordinances imposing taxes on sale of firearms and certain types of ammunition.
Following order dismissing retailer and resident’s challenges to firearms tax, the Circuit Court denied plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment and granted summary judgment in favor of defendants. Plaintiffs appealed, and Appellate Court affirmed. The Supreme Court allowed leave to appeal.
The Supreme Court held that tax ordinances were unconstitutional under the uniformity clause.
Relationship between tax classifications in county ordinances imposing taxes on sale of firearms and certain types of ammunition and use of tax proceeds was not sufficiently tied to the stated objective of ameliorating costs of gun violence, and thus tax ordinances were unconstitutional under the uniformity clause; revenue generated from the firearm taxes was not directed to any fund or program specifically related to curbing the cost of gun violence, and nothing in the ordinances indicated that the proceeds generated from the ammunition tax must be specifically directed to initiatives aimed at reducing gun violence.