Illinois wants to start a program where gun buyers (legal purchases, mind you) have to pay a so-called "violence tax," or a surcharge to pay for the activities of a minority who flout the law to commit crimes. From The New American:

Branded as the “violence tax,” Cook County officials in Illinois are proposing a tax increase on guns and ammo, with the intent to curb violent crime and help close its expansive budget gap. Homicides in Chicago have boosted a staggering 25 percent this year, according toMyFoxChicago.com, and some officials are using the tragedy as a pretense to dilute the number of guns and ammunition in circulation.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle proposed the tax, claiming it would help fill a towering $115 million budget hole next year while stemming Chicago’s rapidly increasing gun violence in light of the summer’s climbing murder rate. "It's a problem for us in our criminal justice system and it's a problem for us in our health care system, and I make no apologies for the proposal," Preckwinkle asserted, adding that shooting victims cost taxpayers an average of $52,000 because the overwhelming majority of them do not carry health insurance.

While it's undeniable that Chicago has a significant gun violence problem, when has taxing ever been a way to solve the issue? Most all of the guns that are used in the crimes are obtained through illegal or illegitimate channels, thus will not be directly subject to this penalty. The only people who will pay it are the responsible gun owners who use them for sport, hunting, or home protection.