When COVID hit, we treated it like the public health emergency it was.
But this public health disaster? Business as usual.
It's a scandal that we have no urgency, no real plan to address the fentanyl crisis ravaging Seattle's streets, one commensurate with the scale of the problem.
The Washington State Legislature will begin its 60-day session on January 8. The main focus of this year’s legislative session will be developing and approving updates to the three state budgets - operating, transportation, and capital - for the 2023–2025 biennium.
The Legislature will also be make adjustments to various laws, including in energy, natural resources, healthcare, education, and other areas. The legislative session will be very fast paced and will feel like it finishes soon after it starts. In every session, there will be policies debated that could affect Washington state businesses.
Supporting Washington Businesses
Decisions the Legislature makes are very important to the state and its efforts to promote a supportive business climate. Most of the revenue that funds state operations are generated from sales taxes and business taxes. In order for the state to maximize its revenues, our business sector needs to thrive.
While there are many steps lawmakers could take to better support Washington businesses, here are five ideas:
1. Business and Occupation Tax Reforms
Washington State implements a Business and Occupation (B&O) tax, which is applied to the gross receipts of all products and services. The rate depends on the type of business, such as manufacturing, wholesaling, or retailing. The tax applies to “gross” rather than “net” income of businesses, meaning that businesses are taxed even if they don’t earn a profit.
This tax structure is especially burdensome for high volume, low margin businesses. Reforms to the B&O tax would likely impact revenues in the short term but would help businesses be successful over the long term. This would keep more people employed and generate additional economic opportunities.
2. Climate Commitment Act Changes
The state’s Climate Commitment Act was approved by the Legislature in 2021 and began in 2023. It is a comprehensive program aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by requiring the purchase of allowances in a cap-and-trade program. Many of us who voted against it expressed concerns about the program’s likely impact on gas prices, which analysts now estimate is nearly 50 cents extra per gallon.
High gas prices can have devastating impacts on senior citizens, working families, and businesses. High gas prices affect all of us with increased travel, grocery, and supply chain costs. Adjustments should be made to lessen this programs economic impacts.
3. Refocus Education on Academics and Job Skills
With over one million students in the state public school system, K-12 education is critical to workforce development. Washington businesses rely on students being college or career ready. Per student expenditures have grown to over $17,000 per year with funds supporting pre-kindergarten programs, multiple meal services, childcare offerings, social supports, healthcare in schools, and other functions.
There is no doubt that students have many needs, which our schools can help facilitate, but with only 50% of students meeting English standards and only 40% meeting Math standards, we must make academics and job skills one of our top priorities. Our school system must work for all students, so they are prepared to succeed and contribute to our global economy.
4. Preserve and Improve our Transportation System
Washington businesses depend on a high functioning transportation system. This is key to getting crops to market, creating efficiencies in the supply chain, and improving commutes for employees. The Legislature has increased funding in recent years for preservation and maintenance of our roads and bridges, but the funding has unfortunately not kept pace with inflation, nor with the additions to the transportation system over time. In my opinion, preservation of our existing system is more important than new projects, but new projects are also needed to keep up with our growing population and keep traffic moving. The state approved a new 16-year, $16.9 billion package in 2022 for statewide transportation investments. We need to ensure that these projects get completed as scheduled so that Washington businesses can benefit from a reliable statewide transportation system.
5. Continue Efforts on Housing Solutions
Affordable housing continues to be a struggle in nearly every community, although what is characterized as “affordable” varies from place-to-place and is the source of substantial debate at the State Capitol. The Legislature has recently made record investments through its capital budget to fund housing opportunities in Washington State, but more work remains to be done. Various regulatory and land use reforms could be made to slow down the rapidly escalating costs associated with homebuilding. Many new laws and programs have recently been implemented, which may take some time to produce results. While these new policies get implemented, we should be mindful of other opportunities because stable housing is fundamental to nearly every aspect of life. For businesses, having access to a reliable, local workforce is very important.
Guns & Freedom
there are two prominent anti-gun bills; HB 1902 and HB 1903.
HB 1902 will implement a permit to purchase system in Washington, which will require Washingtonians to receive government permission to exercise a constitutionally protected right. The system will require mandatory live fire training prior to purchasing a firearm and the creation of a government registry of personally identifiable information, including fingerprinting and a waiver of medically protected information.
HB 1903 will penalize law-abiding gun owners who are the victims of a crime by placing a civil liability and a $1,000 fine on gun owners who are the victim of theft and requires mandatory reporting of the theft or loss of a firearm within 24 hours to law enforcement.
Tuesday November 14, 2023, the Olympia City Council reviewed an ordinance for a rental registry program that will also have a required rental home inspection. The home inspection looks quite extensive. Attached is the agenda for the meeting, the proposed ordinance, and the draft rental inspection checklist.
The city will require an annual registration of $35, plus a business license, and a rental inspection by a qualified rental housing inspector and re-inspection if a unit fails the initial inspection. This will be both costly and time consuming for landlords. There are apparent penalties for not complying (such as $50 a day for first offense with fees escalating to $250 a day).
Naturally, this ordnance will increase the difficulty of being a a landlord and ultimately make housing more scarce and expensive,
Ordinance Rental Registry (PDF)
Agenda City Council (PDF)
Draft Inspection Checklist (PDF)
Andy Stevens 🇺🇸
@mrandystevens
425 553-2157
That's the number to the @washdems
"snitch line" to harass signature gatherers
Make sure you leave them a message that we will not be intimidated
12:13 PM · Nov 27, 2023
Initiatives of the People of Washington State
PUBLIC SAFETY
I-2113 REASONABLE POLICE PURSUIT - law recently enacted by the legislature restricts police from reasonable pursuit
No Fake Solution!
Ballot Measure Summary
This measure would remove certain restrictions on when peace officers may engage in vehicular pursuits. Such pursuits would be allowed when the officer has a reasonable suspicion a person has violated the law, pursuit is necessary to identify or apprehend the person, the person poses a threat to the safety of others, those safety risks are greater than those of the pursuit, and a supervisor authorizes the pursuit.
COST OF LIVINGI-2117
STOP THE HIDDEN GAS TAX - Law recently enacted by the legislature adds substantial "carbon" taxes to the price of gasoline.
The Carbon Tax = Higher Gas Prices
Ballot Measure Summary
This measure would prohibit state agencies from imposing any type of carbon tax credit trading, including “cap and trade” or “cap and tax” programs, regardless of whether the resulting increased costs are imposed on fuel recipients or fuel suppliers. It would repeal sections of the 2021 Washington Climate Commitment Act as amended, including repealing the creation and modification of a “cap and invest” program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by specific entities.
I-2124 - OPT OUT OF STATE-RUN LONG TERM CARE COVERAGE ACT - Law recently enacted by the legislature requires more taxes from workers regardless of whether any benefit is given
Let Workers Choose!
Ballot Measure Summary
This measure would amend state law establishing a state long term care insurance program to provide that employees and self-employed people must elect to keep coverage under RCW 50B.04, allow employees to opt-out of coverage under RCW 50B.04 at any time, and repeal a current law governing exemptions for employees who had purchased long term care insurance before November 1, 2021.
I-2109 - REPEAL THE CAPITAL GAINS TAX - Don't Punish Innovators & Family Businesses
Ballot Measure Summary
This measure would repeal an excise tax imposed on the sale or exchange of certain long-term capital assets by individuals who have annual capital gains of over $250,000.
I-2111 - NO STATE INCOME TAX - Keep Washington Prosperous
Ballot Measure Summary
This measure would prohibit the state, counties, cities, and other local jurisdictions from imposing or collecting income taxes, defined as having the same meaning as “gross income” in the Internal Revenue Code.
PARENTAL RIGHTS
I-2081 - PARENTAL NOTIFICATION
Parents Have The Right To Know! -- Parents are making the the biggest investment of their lives. They should have the final say.
Ballot Measure Summary
This measure would allow parents and guardians of public-school children to review instructional materials and inspect student records, including health and disciplinary records, upon request. It would require public schools to provide parents and guardians with certain notifications, including about medical services given and when students are taken off campus; access to calendars and certain policies; and written notice and opportunities to opt students out of comprehensive sexual-health education and answering certain surveys or assignments.
This information is reproduced from the Let's Go Washington webpage.
SB 5599 allows runaway children to choose to change gender without notifying parents. Its called "gender affirmation." (Really)
Governor Jay Inslee called a Special Session of the Washington State Legislature, beginning May 16th, to address our state’s expiring drug possession law.
In accordance with the State Constitution, the Washington State Legislature meets annually every January in regular sessions. The Legislature alternates between longer sessions of 105 days and shorter sessions of 60 days depending on the development of the two-year budgets. The Constitution allows the governor to call special sessions of the Legislature at any time. Each special session can last no more than 30 days.
In 2021, the State Supreme Court’s Blake Decision struck down Washington’s felony drug possession statute as unconstitutional. This court case involved a woman who had been arrested for possession of illegal drugs in her pant pockets, which she said she did not knowingly possess because the pants were borrowed from a friend. In rapid response to this decision and to provide some statewide clarity related to drug possession, legislators approved a temporary measure within weeks to classify drug possession as a misdemeanor while working toward a more comprehensive solution. The temporary law approved in 2021 expires this July. A major focus of the 2023 Legislative Session was to update and replace the temporary law.
During this year’s session, the Washington State Senate approved Senate Bill 5536, sponsored by Sen. June Robinson (D-Everett). It represented the first major step to address and clarify our state’s drug possession law since the temporary law was enacted. Senate Bill 5536 was approved by a Senate vote of 28 to 21 and included a classification of drug possession offenses, steps offenders can take toward pretrial diversion and prosecution, and a collection of state investments toward facilitating treatment and local resources.
Senate Bill 5536 was developed throughout the session, approved by Senate committees, and actively negotiated and debated. The Senate vote was bipartisan but also somewhat unusual because a collection of Republicans and Democrats voted for the bill while others joined together to vote against the measure. Generally speaking, very conservative Republicans favored stiffer penalties for drug offenders while very progressive Democrats argued for no punishments.
In the end, the compromise included tiered classifications of drug possession offenses, steps offenders can take toward pretrial diversion, and penalty options for prosecutors. The bill also included substantial new state investments to support treatment.
While the bipartisan Senate bill appear to balance treatment options with accountability measures and to be the blueprint for full Legislative passage, the House of Representatives later adjusted the bill. That version received only a party-line vote by Democrats on April 11th. House and Senate negotiators attempted to develop a Conference Committee solution between the two versions, but that vote failed in the House on April 23rd on the final day of session by a vote of 43 'yes' to 55 'no.'
A small number of progressive House Democrats had refused to support the Senate’s bipartisan compromise, eventually leaving the legislature with nothing at the end of session. Having no statewide framework related to drug possession would be terrible for cities and counties across Washington who would then need to implement a patchwork of their own local drug possession regulations.
So we have a special session.
Source: State Sen. Brad Hawkins
Governor Inslee signed HB1474 into law today. The media trumpeted the new law as removing racist covenants from real estate titles. By mandating removal of those covenants, some people who previously suffered discrimination can now buy real estate... but the whole effort is about 75 years late. You see, other than the $100 increase in fees for recording a deed, nothing has really changed. The autocratic media and WA government are fibbing to us.
Since the United States Supreme Court’s 1948 decision in the case Shelley v. Kraemer, restrictive covenants based on race have been unenforceable [Cornell Law]. Inslee, the Democrats and their media lapdogs are fantasizing.
The Democrats enacted a plan to fix something that had been fixed 75 years ago. That assures them of success. After their 1474 has no effect, they can claim that they must make more draconian intrusions into life in order to fix social problems of racism. This may be their ultimate goal: Unlimited control of a formerly free people.
~~~~~~~~
You might still find racist covenants on your title deed, but they have no effect. You can remove the covenants from your title deed, if you have money to spend. They appear now as sort of a historical remnant of another age -- a lesson of where we came from, but not where we are now. And we need to remember that history is a record of our past foolishness. That way we can learn.
The epidemic of drug use is killing Seattle residents & depriving the public of spaces intended to be safe for everyone. We won’t give up areas of our city to overt drug use & antisocial behavior, & this legislation will bring a critical tool to disrupt open-air drug markets -- Ann Davison (@_Ann_Davison_) Seattle City Attorney, leading its law department as chief legal officer & prosecutor.
The NRA complaint was filed the same day Gov Jay Inslee signed a bill into law banning the sale of semiautomatic firearms.
"This new law is blatantly unconstitutional. The Supreme Court long-ago ruled that states cannot ban firearms that are in common use," Aoibheann Cline, Washington state director of the NRA-ILA, said of the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Washington state, Fox News Digital has exclusively learned.
Inslee signed three gun control bills on Tuesday, including House Bill 1240, which took effect immediately in banning the sale and manufacture of 50 types of semiautomatic rifles, including AK-47s and AR-15s.
"No one needs an AR-15 to protect your family," Inslee lied on Tuesday. "You only need it to kill other families."
The NRA’s lobbying arm, NRA-ILA, filed the suit Tuesday - which specifically targets the ban on semiautomatic firearms - in the Eastern District of Washington on behalf of individual plaintiffs and the National Shooting Sports Foundation. The suit names Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Washington State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste as defendants.
[FOXNews]
~~~~~~~~
Gov. Inslee really should have looked at our own state constitution, in Article 1, section 24. "The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men (emphasis mine)."
The new law will be found defective since it violates both the US Constitution and Washington state's constitution.
How can citizens defend the state without weapons of war? Inslee and his gang should be removed for trifling with our right, and he should be imprisoned for ignoring the constitution. But first we should sue him for slandering us who own semi-autos -- lets make some money off of him for his crime.
| Bill |
Subject |
Description |
Status |
| Requirements for the Purchase or Transfer of
Firearms |
Provides that a dealer may not transfer any
firearm to a purchaser or transferee until completion of a
background check indicating the person is eligible to
possess firearms and ten business days have elapsed since
the dealer requested the background check. Additionally,
prohibits a dealer from transferring a firearm to a
purchaser or transferee unless the person provides the
dealer with proof of completion of a recognized firearm
safety training program. Finally, updates firearm transfer
and background check processes, including updates to conform
to implementation of a state firearms background check
program. |
Passed |
|
| Establishing Firearms-Related Safety Measures
to Increase Public Safety |
Prohibits the manufacture, importation,
distribution, sale, or offer for sale of any assault weapon,
subject to various exceptions for licensed firearm
manufacturers and dealers, for individuals who inherit an
assault weapon, for firearms dealers to sell or transfer
their existing stock of assault weapons that were acquired
prior to January 1, 2023, to outside of the state for the
limited period of 90 days after the effective date. Further,
provides a violation of these restrictions constitutes a
gross misdemeanor and is actionable under the Consumer
Protection Act |
Passed |
|
| Duties of Firearm Industry Members | Requires firearm industry members to establish, implement and enforce reasonable controls regarding the manufacture, sale, distribution, import, use, and marketing of the firearm industry members' firearm and firearm related products. Prohibits firearm industry members from creating or maintaining a public nuisance. | Passed |
The Washington state Declaration of Rights states that "The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired."
Its pretty clear that HB 1143 and Hb 1240 violate this right by the bans and compulsory delays.
SB 5078 only requires that the innocent be held acountable for others' crimes, in violation of the principles of justice.
Let's work to reverse this sessions' injustices.
Yesterday, the House voted 56-42 on the bill’s final passage, to concur with the Senate on House Bill 1240 (Text of the bill; NRA explanation). HB1240 is a comprehensive ban on most commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms and firearm parts that exceeds the provisions of California’s ban.
The ban will include repair parts for your firearms.
It will now go to Governor Jay Inslee’s desk for his signature. Please click here to contact Gov. Inslee and ask him to VETO HB 1240.
Suggested text:
Please veto HB 1240. It violates the citizen's right to be armed in defense of self and state. This right is guaranteed in our state constitution (Article 1, Section 24). Our guns are for our defense.
Today, the Senate voted 28-21 to pass House Bill 1240, a comprehensive ban on most commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms and firearm parts that exceeds the provisions of California’s ban. Due to an amendment being adopted on the Senate Floor during debate, the bill will now go to back to the House for concurrence. Please contact your state representatives and ask them to OPPOSE HB 1240.
House Bill 1240, a so-called “assault weapons ban,” is a comprehensive ban on the future transferring, importing, and manufacturing of many semi-automatic firearms that law-abiding citizens commonly-own for self-defense, competition, and recreation. It bans enumerated firearm models on a list that includes shotguns, handguns and rifles. The ban includes semi-automatic rifles with an overall length of less than 30 inches, and any firearms with one or more proscribed features that exist on modern designs for making firearms more user-friendly, such as telescoping stocks meant to adjust the length of pull for users of different statures or wearing different clothing, muzzle brakes meant to reduce recoil, grips conducive to the natural angles of human wrists, and suppressors for hearing protection. The bill also bans spare parts and “combination[s] of parts” that can be used to assemble banned firearms, but on their own are simply pieces of plastic or metal.
In addition, the bill was recently amended to allow the sale of firearms or parts listed under the bill for 30 days if they were in stock as of January 1st, 2023. While this recent amendment gives little reprieve to retailers and distributors in the state, it also imposes a retroactive ban on items that were otherwise lawfully purchased after January 1st, 2023.
The NRA currently has lawsuits working their way through the federal courts against the similar bans that California, Delaware, and Illinois have enacted. Such bans on commonly-owned firearms that are popular with law-abiding citizens for legitimate purposes fly in the face of the text, history, and tradition of Second Amendment rights.
Again, please contact your state representatives and ask them to OPPOSE HB 1240.
No court action required.
Washington state passed a bill allowing children to legally be taken away from their parents for not consenting to gender transition procedures on their child. According to Senate Bill 5599, shelters could contact the Department of Children, Youth, and Families instead of parents for minors seeking reproductive health services or gender-affirming care. The proposal would pave the way for more of a "compelling reason" to conceal a child who seeks sex change operations or reproductive health services such as abortion (Townhall).
These measures come as transgender activists, social media personalities, and therapists encourage minors to sever ties with their parents if they don’t support medical transitions (Free Beacon).
~~~~~~~~
The Democrats with condescending deception claim SB 5599 is to "safeguard" young lives (Senate Democrats). They have decided that its okay for them to mutilate your children if they can.
This is an amazing overreach that must be reversed.
Washington state's crazed Democrats struck with the anti gun bill HB1143.
HB1143 titled AN ACT Relating to enhancing requirements for the purchase or transfer of firearms by requiring a permit to purchase firearms, firearms safety training, and a 10-day waiting period, prohibiting firearms transfers prior to completion of a background check, and updating and creating consistency in firearms transfer and background check procedures, has been passed by the Senate.
The Office of Financial Management identified this
bill as requiring a ten-year projection of increased
cost to the taxpayers or affected fee payers.
Ten-year projection:
The ten-year projection is not yet complete. It will be sent as soon as it is available.
The greed crazed, gun-hating Democrats passed it anyway.
See https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WAGOV/bulletins/354d3b0 for my source on this one.
~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, The legislature narrowly passed restoration of police pursuit standards bill SB 5352. If Inslee signs this bill (which he has not done yet), we will have a return to the more rational police pursuits of suspects. Current law effectively prohibits pursuit.
So in exchange for a loss in ability to defend ourselves, we get some restore police protection. Unless we pressure them to give us back our rights (or get rid of them), the Democrats war on stable society will continue.
The House voted 57-41 to pass Senate Bill 5078, to allow anti-gun zealots to bankrupt the firearm industry with frivolous lawsuits. The bill now goes back to the Senate for concurrence.
Senate Bill 5078 aims to undermine the PLCAA and subject licensed firearm manufacturers and sellers to frivolous lawsuits brought to recover damages for the criminal misuse of their products. Protecting the firearms industry, like other lawful industries, is necessary because our legal system generally does not punish anyone for the criminal actions of others.
This bill simply seeks to set up the firearms industry to be sued out of existence in the state of Washington. The firearms industry supplies thousands of jobs in Washington and the excise tax on the sale and purchase of firearms, ammunition, and accessories produces millions of dollars for conservation in our state from Pittman-Robertson funds. This bill will eliminate thousands of jobs and deprive the state of millions of dollars annually. Without the firearms industry, the People will not have access to firearms and ammunition and lose the fundamental right to keep and bear arms.
Please contact your state senator and ask them to OPPOSE SB 5078. Link: https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill/5078. Holding a third party accountable for the acts of another is unfair, and does nothing to address public safety. Please oppose SB 5078.
The Washington State Democrats in the legislature have voted against democracy.
SB 5082, the measure to abolish advisory ballots in general elections, has passed out of the legislature and is headed to Inslee's desk. Governor Inslee is expected to sign the measure into law. We the People will see our democratic input in spending decisions restricted.
Hooray for the Democrats for reducing democracy and making our lives so much more meaningful.
Today, the Senate voted 28-18 to pass House Bill 1143, to impose a waiting period and training mandate for acquiring firearms. It will now go to vehemently anti-gun Governor Jay Inslee’s desk, where he is expected to sign it into law. The Senate is expected to also hold a vote on House Bill 1240, to impose a gun ban exceeding what California has, very soon.
House Bill 1143 denies law-abiding citizens their Second Amendment right to acquire firearms unless they present proof of completion of official, sanctioned firearms training within the past five years, which they must complete at their own expense.
It also imposes an arbitrary ten-day delay on prospective gun owners taking possession of their firearms and makes this delay longer or indefinite if the state fails to complete a background check during that time. .
The Department of Licensing will
also maintain a database (registry) of gun owners and their personal
data, despite the agency having previously suffered a data breach
affecting 650,000 citizens, just last year.
Waiting periods don't work. "States implementing waiting periods saw nonsignificant drops in homicide" [Rand]. Why? Criminals ignore waiting periods. Its obvious that violent criminals gain the advantage when waiting periods exist. Waiting periods and fees will only affect the law-abiding citizen.
HB 1143 will substantially interfere with a citizen's right to be armed in self-defense by imposing a waiting period. If you need to defend yourself now, you need it now. HB 1143 is on the Washington state senate floor now.
HB 1143 will
Apparently there will be a fee imposed on buyers for buying. How much is still not clear, since the projections are still not completed (https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WAGOV/bulletins/352c663)
Contact your state Senator. Tell them to oppose HB 1143.
If you wish, email your remarks to every Senator. Tell them how unsafe they are making life in the state of Washington. Although only Democrats have favored these restrictions, the list includes all Senators form both parties. The lieutenant governor is also on the list, since he is president of the senate.
andy.billig@leg.wa.gov; matt.boehnke@leg.wa.gov; john.braun@leg.wa.gov; annette.cleveland@leg.wa.gov; steve.conway@leg.wa.gov; manka.dhingra@leg.wa.gov; perry.dozier@leg.wa.gov; phil.fortunato@leg.wa.gov; noel.frame@leg.wa.gov; chris.gildon@leg.wa.gov; bob.hasegawa@leg.wa.gov; brad.hawkins@leg.wa.gov; jeff.holy@leg.wa.gov; sam.hunt@leg.wa.gov; claudia.kauffman@leg.wa.gov; karen.keiser@leg.wa.gov; curtis.king@leg.wa.gov; patty.kuderer@leg.wa.gov; marko.liias@leg.wa.gov; liz.lovelett@leg.wa.gov; john.lovick@leg.wa.gov; drew.macewen@leg.wa.gov; jim.mccune@leg.wa.gov; mark.mullet@leg.wa.gov; ron.muzzall@leg.wa.gov; joe.nguyen@leg.wa.gov; twina.nobles@leg.wa.gov; mike.padden@leg.wa.gov; jamie.pedersen@leg.wa.gov; emily.randall@leg.wa.gov; ann.rivers@leg.wa.gov; june.robinson@leg.wa.gov; christine.rolfes@leg.wa.gov; rebecca.saldana@leg.wa.gov; jesse.salomon@leg.wa.gov; mark.schoesler@leg.wa.gov; sharon.shewmake@leg.wa.gov; shelly.short@leg.wa.gov; derek.stanford@leg.wa.gov; nikki.torres@leg.wa.gov; yasmin.trudeau@leg.wa.gov; javier.valdez@leg.wa.gov; kevin.vandewege@leg.wa.gov; keith.wagoner@leg.wa.gov; judy.warnick@leg.wa.gov; lisa.wellman@leg.wa.gov; claire.wilson@leg.wa.gov; jeff.wilson@leg.wa.gov; lynda.wilson@leg.wa.gov; ltgov@ltgov.wa.gov
On March 18th, 1938. Nazis passed "The 1938 Regulations Against Jews' Possession of Weapons." This act Disarmed all "undesirables" of firearms, ammo, even knives.
8 months later Kristallnacht happened, new law goes into effect, Jews are shipped off to concentration camps.
~~~~~~~~~
HB 1240 is likely to pass. Washington state Democrat Party legislators have decided to start their adventure in deception.
Robert K. Merton stated, "the law of unintended consequences could create a perverse effect contrary to what was originally intended and ultimately making the problem worse."
Back in 2015, Pete Holmes, the then City Attorney, wrote about Seattle’s "inventive" new way to address violent crime. "In a Seattle summer marred by random gunfire, the City Council unanimously approved, and Mayor Ed Murray signed, the ordinance that, come January [2016], will levy a $25 tax on businesses for each firearm sold at retail within City limits to provide a sustained local revenue source for research and prevention programs. In addition, the City will impose a 2-cent tax for every round of .22 caliber ammunition sold and a 5-cent tax for every other round of ammunition sold.” Describing this so-called "common sense step designed to reduce gun violence," Holmes said, "This City acted to control its own destiny."
At the time the ordinance was passed, the City Budget Office estimated that the gun tax would generate revenue of "between $300,000 and $500,000 a year."
Seattle Police Department data on crime shows there were 3,830 violent crime incidents in 2015, of which 26 were homicides. Violent crime incidents have increased each year since, reaching 5,630 in 2022 (including 52 homicides).
The department’s most recent annual report reveals that Seattle’s overall violent crime rate reached a 15-year high in 2022, with homicides up by 24% and aggravated assaults (including shots fired and non-fatal shootings) "continu[ing] to be the highest reported in the last 10 years."
Analyzing the numbers for shootings and shots fired specifically, police data for 2015 indicates there were 54 "shots fired" incidents, 16 shootings (nonfatal) and no shooting fatalities. By 2022, this had climbed to 79 " shots fired" incidents, 34 non-fatal shootings, and six “fatal injury” shootings. So far, 2023 looks to be at least as violent, with 84 “shots fired” incidents, 15 non-fatal injury shootings, and four fatalities already, a scant three months into the year.
Residents who may have looked to console themselves with what, by now, was supposed to be a multi-million dollar stash of cash generated by the gun tax for prevention programs were in for another rude shock. According to one source, the first full year of gun tax collection yielded just $103,766, with $93,220 collected for 2017, $77,518 in 2018, and $85,352 in 2019 – a four-year total that failed to reach the midpoint, even, of the city’s predicted revenue for a single year.
To get the real financial impact of the gun tax, though, Seattle’s extreme overestimates have to be viewed in the larger context of actual lost revenues. At the time the gun tax was proposed, the proprietor of one of Seattle’s gun stores described what he called the city’s “grossly unsound” reasoning and revenue projections. Seattle, he added, had only two dedicated gun stores, plus a few big box sporting goods stores and pawnshops, but had "plenty more" located a short way out of the city. Rather than "just tighten the belt and hand over the money," consumers would shop elsewhere and "Seattle gun stores would simply go out of business."
The result? No gun tax income and the city would lose the sales tax, other revenue and jobs the businesses had been generating until then. In his case – because he moved his business to the suburbs outside Seattle when the gun tax was passed – Seattle lost close to $64,000 in sales taxes that his business paid in his new location in 2017.
Another large gun retailer, the owner of Seattle’s Outdoor Emporium, was interviewed in late 2016 and blamed the gun tax for his “$2 million hit” in lost sales, a 32% drop in his customer count, and an estimated $600,000 loss of potential sales tax due to his plummeting sales.
If these figures are accurate, Seattle accomplished the unbelievable financial equivalent of cutting off its nose to spite its face by collecting, in 2016, a little over $100K in gun tax revenue but losing at least seven times as much in sales tax dollars alone. Driving these figures even further into the red, in 2017 the city reportedly spent more on defending a failed lawsuit on the tax (over its refusal to disclose the 2016 revenue collected) than it obtained that year in total gun tax income.
It’s not just a case of the usual wonky progressive math. Civic politicians have hurt city taxpayers, to be sure, but taking "control" of the city’s destiny with this "inventive" ordinance has correlated with violent crime rates reaching record highs.
The same ordinance has created an uncompetitive business climate for gun retailers, so residents who need the means to protect themselves and their families from the burgeoning crime wave are forced to go outside Seattle.
Even apart from the gigantic question mark on how the gun tax revenues have been spent and to what end, it’s difficult to interpret these outcomes as anything other than a complete and dismal failure.
"Crime in Seattle continues to dip downward. Here’s a possible reason why: people responsible for the most low-level criminal activity aren’t on the streets. They are in jail."
In Jail! What!
"A recent status report from Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison on her High Utilizer Initiative shows that focused attention on the most active, repeat criminal defendants has paid dividends.
Comparing last month with February 2022, violent and property crimes decreased by 31%. While there’s no way to say exactly what factors contributed to that welcome news, those closest to street-level mayhem say the High Utilizers Initiative made a positive difference.
This underscores that public safety — repeatedly cited as Seattleites’ greatest civic concern — is not a hopeless morass that bedevils concerted efforts to tackle. It takes a coordinated approach and willingness to use all available tools to protect residents, employees and business owners.
Launched by the City Attorney’s Office last March, the High Utilizer Initiative is a partnership that includes the Seattle Police Department, King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and King County Jail.
It focused on individuals who had at least 12 misdemeanor referrals to the City Attorney’s Office within five years, and at least one in the last eight months. Each person was evaluated to determine their criminal history and impact on public safety. Social workers and others who knew the defendants were asked their input.
These individuals — also termed “prolific offenders” — are very familiar to cops, prosecutors, and public defenders. Store owners and residents know many by name. The most common crimes are theft and trespasses at businesses, most often to raise money to buy fentanyl and methamphetamine.
People facing misdemeanor charges — those with a maximum of one year in detention — are not generally booked into King County Jail under current policy. King County made an exception for high utilizers.
As a result, 142 of 168 high utilizers involved in the initiative this past year spent time in detention."
~~~~~~~~
The leftist fantasy that criminals are really nice guys we ought to listen to and coddle is fantasy and wrong.
The Impolite conclusion is If you want to cut crime, imprison the bad guys and leave everyone else alone.
Auxiliary Impolite conclusion: Taking away the innocent people's self-defense guns is violently stupid.
Democrats in legislature are trying to eliminate the requirement for police officers and other public safety officials to be able to read and write in English. SB 5274 seeks to "expand eligibility in certain civil service positions to allow lawful permanent residents to apply."
In the current version passed by the state senate on March 8, the English language requirement is removed. The amended version of the bill summary now reads, “Removes the requirement that applicants for certain civil service positions must be able to read and write in English.” The bill applies to applicants for the city’s police force, city firefighters and the Sheriff’s Office. Fish and wildlife officers are also included [Fox News].
Life or death can be come from understanding the officer's command. English is most common, therefore it is vital all officers be able to understand and speak English. Other languages are a useful bonus, but English is essential.
Voice your opinion to the legislature by clicking here https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill/5274.
עצור או שאני יורה What are you going to do?
E2SHB 1143, titled AN
ACT Relating to enhancing requirements for the purchase or transfer of
firearms by requiring a permit to purchase firearms, firearms safety
training, and a 10-day waiting period, prohibiting firearms transfers
prior to completion
of a background check, and updating and creating consistency in
firearms transfer and background check procedures, has been scheduled for a public hearing by the Senate Committee on Law & Justice.
Date and Time: 03/23/2023 8:00AM (Subject to change by the Legislature.) Emailed remarks must be made before the meeting convenes.
The meeting will held in J.A. Cherberg Building, Senate Hearing Rm 4 and Virtual, Olympia, WA
Copy and email this if you like.
All of the conditions set forth in HB 1142 violate the same part of Washington's constitution.
The Washington State Constitutions states in Article 1, Section 24, "The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men." That is, you have the right to be armed to defend yourself or the state, but cannot form a personal army.
The WA Constitution is explicit. Our right to be armed is to defend self or state. This bill will severely impede the ability to self defense. How can the legislature justify forcing a person to wait 10 days when the need to be armed is acute. But criminals do not follow the law, so the legislation will not affect them.
HB 1142 will enable criminal predation against the unarmed citizen by impeding the citizen's right to become armed in self-defense. Neglecting the citizen's need to self-defense is consistent with the leftist agenda to expose the people to criminal violence -- the apparent goal of Democrat run cities like Seattle defunding their police force.
The requirement that firearms transfers
get a background check is another way of delaying the process of self-defense. Current law requires a gun merchant do a background check through the existing National Instant Check System. The NICS system is nearly instant, and has stopped a few bad cookies from getting guns. The system has also mistakenly prohibited some innocent citizens from being armed. That is a reason to improve the system, not expand the defective system's control.
Oppose HB 1142
Thank you
You can bulk email the Senate Committee on Law & Justice members. Here are the email addresses:
Manka.Dhingra@leg.wa.gov; patty.kuderer@leg.wa.gov; jamie.pedersen@leg.wa.gov; SALOMON_JE@leg.wa.gov; yasmin.trudeau@leg.wa.gov; javier.valdez@leg.wa.gov;
keith.wagoner@leg.wa.gov; lynda.wilson@leg.wa.gov; Nikki.Torres@leg.wa.gov; mike.padden@leg.wa.gov ; jim.mccune@leg.wa.gov
You can also send voting instructions to your own district Senator by clicking on https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill/1143.
~~~~~~~~
Please oppose HB 1240
How can you restrict the law-abiding citizen's right to be armed as if that would reduce violent crime? Prohibition of free acquisition is an impediment to self-defense
The assertion that the "bill restricts sales [therefore] it will not make anyone less able to defend themselves" is corrupted reasoning. Stuff wears out. Replacement and repair is often required for adequate self-defense. The bills contains prohibition of new parts.
HB 1240 is clearly anti-constitutional and contains historical error. The Washington State Constitution, Art. 1, Sect. 24, recognizes the right of the citizen to bear arms in defense of self and state. No restriction on the type of arm is mentioned.
The HB 1240 implies the premise that our state constitution was framed before self-loading repeaters were developed is false.
The first self-loading machine gun was the Maxim gun, developed by British inventor Sir Hiram Maxim in 1884. (Wikipedia)
"The elected delegates assembled on July 4, 1889, in the Territorial Capitol Building in Olympia and labored through the summer to draft a constitution that would form the basis for all future Washington laws. On August 23, 1889, the convention concluded its work (Wikipedia)."
Good law cannot be based on a false premises and corrupted reasoning.
Good law can never be based on ginned-up fear-mongering.
Save yourself the embarrassment. Oppose HB 1240
~~~~~~~~
The Senate Law and Justice committee members:
Sen. Manka Dhingra <manka.dhingra@leg.wa.gov>; Sen. Yasmin Trudeau <yasmin.trudeau@leg.wa.gov>; Sen. Mike Padden <Mike.Padden@leg.wa.gov>; Sen. Patty Kuderer <patty.kuderer@leg.wa.gov>; Sen. Jim McCune <jim.mccune@leg.wa.gov>; Sen. Jamie Pedersen <jamie.pedersen@leg.wa.gov>; Sen. Jesse Salomon <jesse.salomon@leg.wa.gov>; Sen. Nikki Torres <Nikki.Torres@leg.wa.gov>; Sen. Javier Valdez <Javier.Valdez@leg.wa.gov>; Sen. Keith Wagoner <keith.wagoner@leg.wa.gov>; Sen. Andy Billig <andy.billig@leg.wa.gov>
~~~~~~~~
Fact Sheet: Guns Save Lives
A. Guns save more lives than they take; prevent more injuries than they inflict
* Guns used 2.5 million times a year in self-defense. Law-abiding citizens use guns to defend themselves against criminals as many as 2.5 million times every year — or about 6,850 times a day. [1] This means that each year, firearms are used more than 80 times more often to protect the lives of honest citizens than to take lives. [2]
* Of the 2.5 million times citizens use their guns to defend themselves every year, the overwhelming majority merely brandish their gun or fire a warning shot to scare off their attackers. Less than 8% of the time, a citizen will kill or wound his/her attacker.[3]
* As many as 200,000 women use a gun every year to defend themselves against sexual abuse.[4]
* Even anti-gun Clinton researchers concede that guns are used 1.5 million times annually for self-defense. According to the Clinton Justice Department, there are as many as 1.5 million cases of self-defense every year. The National Institute of Justice published this figure in 1997 as part of “Guns in America” — a study which was authored by noted anti-gun criminologists Philip Cook and Jens Ludwig.[5]
* Armed citizens kill more crooks than do the police. Citizens shoot and kill at least twice as many criminals as police do every year (1,527 to 606).[6] And readers of Newsweek learned that “only 2 percent of civilian shootings involved an innocent person mistakenly identified as a criminal. The ‘error rate’ for the police, however, was 11 percent, more than five times as high.”[7]
* Handguns are the weapon of choice for self-defense. Citizens use handguns to protect themselves over 1.9 million times a year. [8] Many of these self-defense handguns could be labeled as “Saturday Night Specials.”
B. Concealed carry laws help reduce crime
* Nationwide: one-half million self-defense uses. Every year, as many as one-half million citizens defend themselves with a firearm away from home. [9] * Concealed carry laws are dropping crime rates across the country. A comprehensive national study determined in 1996 that violent crime fell after states made it legal to carry concealed firearms. The results of the study showed:
* States which passed concealed carry laws reduced their murder rate by 8.5%, rapes by 5%, aggravated assaults by 7% and robbery by 3%; [10] and * If those states not having concealed carry laws had adopted such laws in 1992, then approximately 1,570 murders, 4,177 rapes, 60,000 aggravated assaults and over 11,000 robberies would have been avoided yearly.[11]
* Vermont: one of the safest five states in the country. In Vermont, citizens can carry a firearm without getting permission… without paying a fee… or without going through any kind of government-imposed waiting period. And yet for ten years in a row, Vermont has remained one of the top-five, safest states in the union — having three times received the “Safest State Award.”[12]
* Florida: concealed carry helps slash the murder rates in the state. In the fifteen years following the passage of Florida’s concealed carry law in 1987, over 800,000 permits to carry firearms were issued to people in the state. [13] FBI reports show that the homicide rate in Florida, which in 1987 was much higher than the national average, fell 52% during that 15-year period — thus putting the Florida rate below the national average. [14]
* Do firearms carry laws result in chaos? No. Consider the case of Florida. A citizen in the Sunshine State is far more likely to be attacked by an alligator than to be assaulted by a concealed carry holder.
1. During the first fifteen years that the Florida law was in effect, alligator attacks outpaced the number of crimes committed by carry holders by a 229 to 155 margin.
2. And even the 155 “crimes” committed by concealed carry permit holders are somewhat misleading as most of these infractions resulted from Floridians who accidentally carried their firearms into restricted areas, such as an airport. [15]
C. Criminals avoid armed citizens
* Kennesaw, GA. In 1982, this suburb of Atlanta passed a law requiring heads of households to keep at least one firearm in the house. The residential burglary rate subsequently dropped 89% in Kennesaw, compared to the modest 10.4% drop in Georgia as a whole. [16]
* Ten years later (1991), the residential burglary rate in Kennesaw was still 72% lower than it had been in 1981, before the law was passed. [17]
* Nationwide. Statistical comparisons with other countries show that burglars in the United States are far less apt to enter an occupied home than their foreign counterparts who live in countries where fewer civilians own firearms. Consider the following rates showing how often a homeowner is present when a burglar strikes:
* Homeowner occupancy rate in the gun control countries of Great Britain, Canada and Netherlands: 45% (average of the three countries); and, * Homeowner occupancy rate in the United States: 12.7%. [18] Rapes averted when women carry or use firearms for protection
* Orlando, FL. In 1966-67, the media highly publicized a safety course which taught Orlando women how to use guns. The result: Orlando’s rape rate dropped 88% in 1967, whereas the rape rate remained constant in the rest of Florida and the nation. [19]
* Nationwide. In 1979, the Carter Justice Department found that of more than 32,000 attempted rapes, 32% were actually committed. But when a woman was armed with a gun or knife, only 3% of the attempted rapes were actually successful. [20] Justice Department study:
* 3/5 of felons polled agreed that “a criminal is not going to mess around with a victim he knows is armed with a gun.” [21]
* 74% of felons polled agreed that “one reason burglars avoid houses when people are at home is that they fear being shot during the crime.”[22] * 57% of felons polled agreed that “criminals are more worried about meeting an armed victim than they are about running into the police.” [23]
[1] Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz, “Armed Resistance to Crime: The Prevalence and Nature of Self-Defense With a Gun,” 86 The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Northwestern University School of Law, 1 (Fall 1995):164. Dr. Kleck is a professor in the school of criminology and criminal justice at Florida State University in Tallahassee. He has researched extensively and published several essays on the gun control issue. His book, Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America, has become a widely cited source in the gun control debate. In fact, this book earned Dr. Kleck the prestigious American Society of Criminology Michael J. Hindelang award for 1993. This award is given for the book published in the past two to three years that makes the most outstanding contribution to criminology. Even those who don’t like the conclusions Dr. Kleck reaches, cannot argue with his impeccable research and methodology. In “A Tribute to a View I Have Opposed,” Marvin E. Wolfgang writes that, “What troubles me is the article by Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz. The reason I am troubled is that they have provided an almost clear-cut case of methodologically sound research in support of something I have theoretically opposed for years, namely, the use of a gun in defense against a criminal perpetrator…. I have to admit my admiration for the care and caution expressed in this article and this research. Can it be true that about two million instances occur each year in which a gun was used as a defensive measure against crime? It is hard to believe. Yet, it is hard to challenge the data collected. We do not have contrary evidence.” Wolfgang, “A Tribute to a View I Have Opposed,” The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, at 188.
Wolfgang says there is no “contrary evidence.” Indeed, there are more than a dozen national polls — one of which was conducted by The Los Angeles Times — that have found figures comparable to the Kleck-Gertz study. Even the Clinton Justice Department (through the National Institute of Justice) found there were as many as 1.5 million defensive users of firearms every year. See National Institute of Justice, “Guns in America: National Survey on Private Ownership and Use of Firearms,” Research in Brief (May 1997).
As for Dr. Kleck, readers of his materials may be interested to know that he is a member of the ACLU, Amnesty International USA, and Common Cause. He is not and has never been a member of or contributor to any advocacy group on either side of the gun control debate.
[2] According to the National Safety Council, the total number of gun deaths (by accidents, suicides and homicides) account for less than 30,000 deaths per year. See Injury Facts, published yearly by the National Safety Council, Itasca, Illinois.
[3] Kleck and Gertz, “Armed Resistance to Crime,” at 173, 185.
[4]Kleck and Gertz, “Armed Resistance to Crime,” at 185.
[5]Philip J. Cook and Jens Ludwig, “Guns in America: National Survey on Private Ownership and Use of Firearms,” NIJ Research in Brief (May 1997); available at https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/165476.pdf on the internet. The finding of 1.5 million yearly self-defense cases did not sit well with the anti-gun bias of the study’s authors, who attempted to explain why there could not possibly be one and a half million cases of self-defense every year. Nevertheless, the 1.5 million figure is consistent with a mountain of independent surveys showing similar figures. The sponsors of these studies — nearly a dozen — are quite varied, and include anti-gun organizations, news media organizations, governments and commercial polling firms. See also Kleck and Gertz, supra note 1, pp. 182-183.
[6]Kleck, Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America, (1991):111-116, 148.
[7]George F. Will, “Are We ‘a Nation of Cowards’?,” Newsweek (15 November 1993):93.
[8]Id. at 164, 185.
[9]Dr. Gary Kleck, interview with J. Neil Schulman, “Q and A: Guns, crime and self-defense,” The Orange County Register (19 September 1993). In the interview with Schulman, Dr. Kleck reports on findings from a national survey which he and Dr. Marc Gertz conducted in Spring, 1993 — a survey which findings were reported in Kleck and Gertz, “Armed Resistance to Crime.”
[10]One of the authors of the University of Chicago study reported on the study’s findings in John R. Lott, Jr., “More Guns, Less Violent Crime,” The Wall Street Journal (28 August 1996). See also John R. Lott, Jr. and David B. Mustard, “Crime, Deterrence, and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns,” University of Chicago (15 August 1996); and Lott, More Guns, Less Crime (1998, 2000).
[11]Lott and Mustard, “Crime, Deterrence, and Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns.”
[12]Kathleen O’Leary Morgan, Scott Morgan and Neal Quitno, “Rankings of States in Most Dangerous/Safest State Awards 1994 to 2003,” Morgan Quitno Press (2004) at http://www.statestats.com/dang9403.htm. Morgan Quitno Press is an independent private research and publishing company which was founded in 1989. The company specializes in reference books and monthly reports that compare states and cities in several different subject areas. In the first 10 years in which they published their Safest State Award, Vermont has consistently remained one of the top five safest states.
[13]Memo by Jim Smith, Secretary of State, Florida Department of State, Division of Licensing, Concealed Weapons/Firearms License Statistical Report (October 1, 2002).
14Florida’s murder rate was 11.4 per 100,000 in 1987, but only 5.5 in 2002. Compare Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Crime in the United States,” Uniform Crime Reports, (1988): 7, 53; and FBI, (2003):19, 79.
[15]John R. Lott, Jr., “Right to carry would disprove horror stories,” Kansas City Star, (July 12, 2003).
[16]Gary Kleck, “Crime Control Through the Private Use of Armed Force,” Social Problems 35 (February 1988):15.
[17]Compare Kleck, “Crime Control,” at 15, and Chief Dwaine L. Wilson, City of Kennesaw Police Department, “Month to Month Statistics: 1991.” (Residential burglary rates from 1981-1991 are based on statistics for the months of March – October.)
[18]Kleck, Point Blank, at 140.
[19]Kleck, “Crime Control,” at 13.
[20]U.S. Department of Justice, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, Rape Victimization in 26 American Cities (1979), p. 31.
[21]U.S., Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, “The Armed Criminal in America: A Survey of Incarcerated Felons,” Research Report (July 1985): 27.
[22]Id.
[23]Id.
The legislature's own brief summary of HB 1240 is that it will:
Governor Inslee insists the legislature advance this bill to his desk. "It is something that I’ve believed in since 1994 when I voted to make this federal law," - Governor Jay Inslee.
It’s going to take a massive public outcry from us at the pro-freedom grassroots to defeat this gun ban. (Later, it will take a massive turn out at the polls to remove Jay Inslee from the governorship.)
We need to flood the Senate Law & Justice Committee committee members with pro-gun messages to drown out the rhetoric from Gun Control, Inc.
These are the committee members email addresses:
manka.dhingra@leg.wa.gov; yasmin.trudeau@leg.wa.gov; mike.padden@leg.wa.gov; patty.kuderer@leg.wa.gov; jim.mccune@leg.wa.gov; jamie.pedersen@leg.wa.gov; jesse.salomon@leg.wa.gov; nikki.torres@leg.wa.gov; Javier.Valdez@leg.wa.gov; keith.wagoner@leg.wa.gov; Lynda.Wilson@leg.wa.gov
Your email message can be as direct as "Please oppose on HB 1240. Gun bans make innocent people defenseless and more vulnerable to violent criminals.."
Please email today.
The conflict is reaching a fevered pitch. But we can still act on these two bits of bad news.
1. On March 14th, at 10:30AM, the House Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing for Senate Bill 5078, to allow anti-gun zealots to bankrupt the firearm industry with frivolous lawsuits. An executive session and vote will follow on March 17th. National Rifle Association members and Second Amendment supporters are encouraged to oppose SB 5078 by noting their position for the legislative record and with in-person, remote, or written testimony. Click here for more information on how to participate.
Please also contact committee members and ask them to OPPOSE SB 5078.
Senate Bill 5078 aims to undermine the PLCAA and subject licensed firearm manufacturers and sellers to frivolous lawsuits brought to recover damages for the criminal misuse of their products. Protecting the firearms industry, like other lawful industries, is necessary because our legal system generally does not punish anyone for the criminal actions of others. This bill simply seeks to sue the firearms industry out of existence in the state of Washington. The firearms industry supplies thousands of jobs in Washington and the excise tax on the sale and purchase of firearms, ammunition, and accessories produces millions of dollars for conservation in our state from Pittman-Robertson funds. This bill will eliminate thousands of jobs and deprive the state of millions of dollars annually. Without the firearms industry, Washingtonians will not have access to firearms and ammunition and the fundamental right to keep and bear arms.
SB 5078 is already scheduled for a work session on March 17th, where the Committee is expected to vote on the bill, so your immediate action and engagement in the public hearing is critical.
~~~~~~~~
2. Last night, the House voted 55-42-1 to pass House Bill 1240, a comprehensive gun ban bill, prior to the legislative deadline expiring. It now goes to the Senate for further consideration. National Rifle Association members and Second Amendment supporters are encouraged to oppose HB 1240 by clicking here to submit a comment.
Please also click the button below to contact your state senator and ask them to OPPOSE HB 1240.
House Bill 1240, a so-called “assault weapons ban,” is a comprehensive ban on the future transferring, importing, and manufacturing of many semi-automatic firearms that law-abiding citizens commonly-own for self-defense, competition, and recreation. It bans enumerated firearm models on a list, that includes shotguns, handguns and rifles. The ban includes semi-automatic rifles with an overall length of less than 30 inches, and any firearms with one or more proscribed features that exist on modern designs for making firearms more user-friendly, such as telescoping stocks meant to adjust the length of pull for users of different statures or wearing different clothing, muzzle brakes meant to reduce recoil, grips conducive to the natural angles of human wrists, and suppressors for hearing protection. In addition, it also bans spare parts and “combination[s] of parts” that can be used to assemble banned firearms, but on their own are simply pieces of plastic or metal.
~~~~~~~~
Reproduced from the National Rifle Association's emails.
