The right of the people to know - a reflection

"The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created."

That text is from the Washington State Open Public Meetings Act (RCW42.30.010).  The people must know what government is doing in order to have a informed and fruitful discussion.  If the people are kept in the dark, the government officials are trying to usurp the people's sovereignty and should face a punishment.  This is essential in order to keep democracy.

This principle of openness should be expanded to all government function.  That might cost more, but it will help us stay in control of our corporate government.


The OPMA was enacted in 1971.  Washington State was a lot more of a democratic republic in those days.  These days are darker, with special interests in Olympia in control of much of our affairs and our lives.

More firearm restrictions go into effect

On July 28^th, the following anti-gun bills will go into effect in Washington State:

House Bill 1786 will expand firearm seizures to a wider range of protective orders with little to no due process, and in some cases, will remove a judge’s discretion as to whether to impose firearm restrictions upon respondents of protective orders.

House Bill 1225 will require law-enforcement to seize firearms and ammunition when they are called to the scene of an alleged domestic violence incident and hold them for at least five business days.  This will unfortunately result in property being confiscated without due process and subject citizens to bureaucratic red tape to get their property returned.

Senate Bill 5027 will expand Washington’s existing Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO).  It will affirm that the ERPO can be issued against minors, while also infringing upon the self-defense rights of law-abiding parents or others in the household without due process. 

Senate Bill 5181 will suspend Second Amendment rights without due process for six months from individuals who are admitted for a 72-hour mental health evaluation, but who are not subsequently involuntarily committed.

Fortunately, one pro-Second Amendment bill will also go into effect on the 28^th:

House Bill 1934 will allow military members who are stationed or assigned out-of-state to renew their CPL by mail. 

Initiative 1082 - citizens' right to approve new taxes

Initiative 1082 is a proposal to let the citizens of the state to review and rescind new tax burdens the legislature adds.   Normally, the legislature should exercise restraint when adding to the burden the people bear, but the current legislature went ape enacting new taxes.  Initiative 1082 will allow the people to  restrain tax crazed legislatures.

Impolite endorses Initiative 1082 as a modest restraint on the state government.  The current increase in taxation -- $27 Billion -- is slightly nuts, especially given the state budget was already in balance without the tax hikes.  The Democratic Party controlled legislature increased taxes apparently to increase pressure on the citizens and no other reason.

This November, you'll see 12 "Tax Advisories" on the ballot.  The legislature got scared when they began to encounter citizen resistance to the tax burden increase.  So they allowed that they would take advice on the tax increases.  (This is required by law, but there was some doubt whether it would actually happen.  We know now.
Be sure to sign I-1082 when you get the chance.  Download a copy and circulate it to your friends.  We must stop this tax-madness.

I-1082 download https://permanentoffense.com/petition-download/

I 1648 will not be on the ballot

Initiative 1648, the Term Limits on New Taxes, fell short of the the required number of signatures to qualify for the next ballot.  The most likely reason is the petition drive was given only 4 weeks to gather signatures.

As things stand now, $27 billion in new taxes will fall on the citizens of Washington State starting this year.  If you wish to avoid this disaster, you have two options:  Flee the state, or; Be sure the tax-wild Democrat majority does not stay in power in state government.

Tim Eyman made the following state (by email):

"At 4:41pm, we announced that 1648 had fallen short (the signature count was a little over 198,000 ... but that number didn't include an additional 4300 signatures that were hand-delivered after that).  With 259K valid signatures required, a little over 202K wasn't enough.  I'm not gonna sugar-coat it -- it's a gut punch. So many heroic people put forth a tremendous amount of effort for this extraordinary initiative and it's heartbreaking we didn't make it."

Eyman added:
*  if we had more time, it would've qualified.
*  if we had more money, it would've qualified.
*  if we had qualified it, voters would've passed it by a huge margin.
*  the seeds of later victory were sown by this campaign.


See also Initiative 1082 - citizens' right to approve new taxes, which is son-of-1648, sort of, and still viable.

New gun control restrictions in Washington State

Initiative 1639 was enacted by popular vote in the last general election.   Under I-1639, starting July 1st, prospective purchasers of semi-automatic rifles are required to submit:

• To have completed a specific, I-1639 compliant, firearm training course within the previous five years,
• To transfer of semi-automatic rifles are delayed for ten business days before the buyer or recipient may take possession
• To register new acquired semi-automatic rifles in the existing handgun registration data base.
• To pay a fee of $18 to the Department of Licensing to process transfer of semi auto to buyers or recipients.

Firearm owners will also be required to store firearms locked up per state standards or potentially face criminal liability if they are accessed and used in an illegal act.  State secure storage requirements are still unclear.

House Bill 1465 (as signed) was enacted by the authoritarian movement in Olympia.  It also went into effect July 1st.

It will require state Concealed Pistol License (CPL) holders to undergo a state background check on handgun purchases.

This new requirement is because the FBI is no longer going to conduct National Instant Checks (NICS) for the state.  Background check will be added to teh pistol data base.

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To read the whole state law regulating private firearms (RCW 9.41) -- click here