Substitute Senate Bill 5444,
sponsored by Senator David Frockt (D-46), is a stepping stone to a
larger prohibition. As drafted, anyone under the age of 21 would be
virtually unable to possess commonly owned semi-automatic rifles. This
legislation attempts to brand these firearms as “assault weapons” to
drum up unfounded fear of their ownership. The proposed substitute
would treat these so-called "assault weapons" like handguns under state
law, which require a waiting period of either 10 days or until all
federal and state background checks have been completed. Individuals
would be required to complete the same purchase application as for
handguns. The Washington Department of Licensing would be granted
permission to store this information under SB 5444, creating a back-door
registry. Scheduled for a committee vote on Thursday, February 1st at 10:00am.
Substitute Senate Bill 5441,
sponsored by Senator Patty Kuderer (D-48), would impose a 6-month
firearm prohibition for any person who has been released from a 72-hour
mental health evaluation. Current law allows a person to be held for a
limited time in order for a mental health professional to determine if
the individual, based on allegations of a mental health or substance
abuse disorder, is in need of treatment or further commitment. At the
end of the evaluation, individuals that are not in need of treatment are
released. SB 5441 would nonetheless apply a blanket prohibition of
firearm possession to all released individuals, and requires the
immediate surrender of all firearms and any concealed pistol license to
law enforcement. This legislation removes a constitutional right
without any mental health adjudication or judicial determination, and
without any due process of law. Scheduled for a committee vote on
Thursday, February 1st at 10:00am.
Senate Bill 6298,
sponsored by Senator Manka Dhingra (D-45), would expand the list of
domestic violence offenses that prohibit firearm possession to also
include “Harrassment.” Domestic violence is a serious issue and those
convicted of violent offenses should be addressed accordingly. However,
the definition of harassment under Washington state law is so broadly
defined that it includes 37 other crimes, many of which involve no form
of actual contact or threat of harm to a person. Under this
legislation, even the offenses of graffiti and trespass fall within this
umbrella category that could result in a firearm prohibition. Imposing
an automatic, blanket ban on constitutional rights for these wildly
varying offenses is excessive and unwarranted. Scheduled for a
committee vote on Tuesday, January 30th at 10:00am.
Senate Bill 6415,
sponsored by Senator Sam Hunt (D-22), would require individuals to ask
for express consent to conceal carry a firearm at the residence of
another person. Failure to obtain permission prior to entering the
property would result in a misdemeanor crime. Individuals convicted of
this new offense would be required to surrender their concealed pistol
license, and would be prohibited from obtaining a CPL for five years.
This vaguely drafted legislation targets Washington’s law abiding CPL
holders, and as drafted, could even make it a crime for law enforcement
to enter one’s property without first requesting permission to carry
their firearm. This bill is scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Law & Justice Committee at 10:00am on Tuesday, January 30th, and a committee vote on Thursday, February 1st at 10:00am.
Senate Bill 5992,
passed by a Senate vote of 29-20. Sponsored by Senator Kevin Van de
Wege (D-24), SB 5992 was originally introduced as a trigger modification
device ban with broad, overreaching language that would have
criminalized modifications commonly made to firearms by law-abiding
citizens. Instead, the legislation was amended on the floor Thursday
night to narrow down the definition of the ban to apply only to
bump-fire stock attachments. This bill will now head to the House where
it will be assigned to committee for further consideration.
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