Are taxes the secret weapon in the gun control debate?

In a piece earlier this year entitled "Can poor people be trusted with guns?," I wrote about how the common feature of the different gun control bills pushed this year involves their taxes and fees imposed on the purchases of guns or ammo.  Now Fox News recognizes this issue, though they miss out on many of the taxes and fees that are being imposed that I discussed in my article.

Yet another tax for buying guns in Chicago

With licensing and registration fees and training costs, this additional tax is part of the overall burden put on people.  From the Chicago Tribune:

People buying guns in Cook County will pay an extra $25 for each weapon under a new tax that goes into effect today. 

Although the tax has been challenged in court, County Board President Toni Preckwinkle heralded it during a news conference in Pilsen, where she was surrounded by gun safety advocates, the family of gun violence victims and clergy.
“We cannot allow gun violence to become commonplace,” Preckwinkle said, calling gun violence an “epidemic. 

The $600,000 the tax is expected to raise this year would help defray the costs of treating indigent gunshot victims at Stroger Hospital, county officials have said. The taxpayer-funded public hospital treats about 670 gunshot victims each year at an average cost of $52,000, Preckwinkle said. . . .