Christopher Lee, lobbyist for the National Shooting Sports Foundation's Firearm Industry Trade Association, testifying in front of the Ohio House Ways and Means Committee in support of Hosue Bill 189 on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023 in Columbus, Ohio. (Screenshot from the Ohio Channel)

Editor’s note (9/28): This article has been edited to include comments from Ohio state Rep. Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati.)

While giving testimony in favor of an Ohio House bill that would remove sales taxes for certain firearms and ammunition, Christopher Lee from the Firearm Industry Trade Association refused to answer whether he thinks it would be better to feed children or remove taxes from firearm sales.

During a meeting of the Ohio House Ways and Means Committee Tuesday to hear proponent testimony on the two bills, state Rep. Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati) said that if House Bill 189 were to pass, there would be an estimated $23-$39 million in lost state revenue from not taxing guns and ammo, according to an official fiscal analysis by the Ohio Legislative Service Commission.

Issacsohn also said that $25 million is the exact same amount of money it would take to feed children breakfast before school, before asking the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) lobbyist if it is his organization’s position that it’s better to subsidize gun sales or feed children.

“Is it the [gun] industry’s and your association’s position that the money is better spent subsidizing their gun sales or feeding hungry kids before school?” Isaacsohn asked.

Lee refused to answer the question because he didn’t think the phrasing was appropriate.

Isaacsohn said Thursday that the $25 million number came from a proposed amendment in a House Primary and Secondary Education subcommittee during the state’s biannual budget process. While covering free breakfast and lunch would cost about $200 million, covering just lunch would cost $26.2 million.

If passed, HB 189 would remove all sales taxes for gun and ammunition transactions in Ohio. It would also provide financial incentives for weapons manufacturers expanding their operations in the state, which the bill’s author, state Rep. Al Cutrona (R-Canfield), says would foster job growth. HB 189 is packaged with HB 186, a bill sponsored by state Reps. Darnell Brewer (D-Cleveland) and Sean Patrick Brennan (D-Parma) to eliminate sales and use taxes on gun safety devices, like locks and safes.

Issacsohn has previously said that HB 189 is the most “morally bankrupt bill” he has ever seen in committee.

Later in the testimony, Lee also asserted that citizens have a constitutional right to purchase arms despite Issacsohn pointing out that the Second Amendment does not feature that language. When state Rep. Reggie Stoltzfus (R-Paris Twp.) was called on, he assured Lee that Ohio is a Second Amendment-friendly state and apologized for the “stupid questions” he had to answer.