Steve Moore’s pushback against federal meddling in New York City’s proposed pied-à-terre tax is a timely reminder that the same principle applies to the Second Amendment: the more layers of distant government that insert themselves between citizens and their rights, the more those rights erode. When Washington starts dictating how cities and states can raise revenue, it sets a precedent that could just as easily be used to withhold highway funds from states that refuse to adopt “assault-weapon” registration schemes or to punish jurisdictions that refuse to create gun-owner databases. Moore’s argument that competition among states and cities is the best check on overreach is exactly why pro-2A advocates have long championed federalism—letting Texans keep constitutional carry while New Yorkers fight for shall-issue permitting keeps the laboratories of democracy running and prevents one-size-fits-all national gun control from taking hold.

The deeper implication is that every new federal tax or spending lever becomes another pressure point anti-gun lawmakers can exploit. If Congress can threaten to yank education dollars over local tax policy, it can just as easily threaten to yank law-enforcement grants from states that refuse to enforce magazine bans or red-flag laws. Moore’s insistence that the feds “stay out” is therefore not just a fiscal argument; it is a structural safeguard that keeps the Bill of Rights from being nationalized into a floor that can be raised at will by whichever party controls Washington. For gun owners, that means fewer opportunities for coastal megacities to export their gun-control models to the rest of the country through federal coercion.

Ultimately, Moore’s stance reinforces the Founders’ design: rights survive best when power is diffused and citizens can vote with their feet. If New York wants to tax pied-à-terre apartments into the Hudson, that’s its problem; if Illinois wants to treat lawful gun owners like criminals, that’s its problem too. The moment either policy becomes a federal mandate, the competition that protects liberty disappears. Keeping Washington out of local tax fights is therefore one more front in the larger battle to keep the federal government out of the gun safe.