Sanctuary from stupid gun law I-1639

The Left has been using "sanctuary" laws to make themselves immune from national immigration statutes.   Now a Washington State community is considering declaring itself a "sanctuary" against  the gun control Initiative 1639, in order to restore the legality of the civil right of self-defense.

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"REPUBLIC, Wash. -- The town of Republic may declare itself a sanctuary city from a newly passed gun measure.

"Republic is in northeastern Washington, about two-and-a-half hours from Spokane, near the Canadian border. About 1,000 people live there.

"The mayor there is considering an ordinance, proposed by the police chief to make Republic a sanctuary city for gun rights. This is in response to voters across the state passing Initiative 1639.

"That initiative puts more restrictions on buying and storing guns. But in Ferry County, where Republic is, nearly three out of four voters opposed it. The police chief, Loren Culp in Republic has already said he would not enforce the law."

“I felt that it was such a blatant disregard for constitutional rights that I felt like I had no choice but to stand up for the people that I serve," Culp said in an interview with Fox News.

“We are a society built on the rule of law,” said Renee Hopkins, CEO of Alliance for Gun Responsibility, which led the campaign for I-1639. “If we have leaders that are responsible for ensuring the laws are enforced, picking and choosing which laws they get to enforce, we have a huge problem.”

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 The Leftists insist this is a society of law.  If only they had thought of that when they enacted their own "sanctuary" statutes to avoid enforcing laws they don't like.  (By the way, the Left's "Sanctuary laws lead to brutal violence and death).  Apparently they want only the laws they like and everybody else can be oppressed.

NRA Challenges Constitutional Violations in Initiative 1639

Ruger 10/22, regulated "Assault Weapon" under I-1639

STEN SMG gun, not regulated under I-1639

Fairfax, Va. - The National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF)  today jointly filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington challenging the recently passed gun control measures in Washington ballot initiative I-1639.

"The NRA is committed to restoring the Second Amendment rights of every law-abiding Washingtonian," said Chris W. Cox, executive director of NRA¹s Institute for Legislative Action. "I-1639 violates the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens and puts people at risk. This lawsuit is the first step in the fight to ensure that Washingtonians are free to exercise their fundamental right to self-defense."

"We are disappointed that too many voters were fooled into supporting this 30-page gun control scheme, despite overwhelming law enforcement opposition," said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. "This initiative is an affront to the constitutional rights enshrined in the Second Amendment and the Washington state constitution. This measure will have a chilling effect on the exercise of the constitutional rights of honest citizens while having no impact on criminals, and we will not let it go unchallenged."

Initiative 1639 classifies ordinary, recreational firearms in common use as “assault” weapons, denies young adults the right to self-protection, and bans the sale of firearms to out-of-state residents.

"The NRA will fight to overturn this unconstitutional initiative. We will not sit idly by while elitist anti-gun activists attempt to deny everyday Americans their fundamental right to self-defense," concluded Cox.

School districts promise more in salary than the state provides

So you thought your local school levies were only gong to be used for local improvements in the future?  You thought the school teachers were going to be paid by the state?  Ha.

The Washington Education Association used hard bargaining that ignored the laws prohibiting levy money from being used for wage enhancements. The union instigated multiple strikes, and elected school boards gave in to extraordinary wage demands including raises as high as 34 percent.

These increases in school districts’ payroll obligations massively exceeded the salary funds provided by the state, and now districts are going to cannibalize school services to fund the union’s wage increase demands.

Read more to learn how far into the red your local district budget will be in four years.

Dr Kim Schrier's smear campaign against Dino Rossi

Dr Kim Schrier's campaign has run several ads alleging that Dino Rossi's campaign is sold out to dark and mysterious forces.  Schrier's ads have been called  a lowlife smear.

You would expect the alleged financial oddities to show up in the campaign statements.

Since Rossi and Schrier are running for the Washington 8th district US Congressional seat recently held by Dave Reichert, federal election campaign laws prevail.  We can check how much impact mysterious forces are having by using the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) website data.  Here is a summary comparing the two 8th district candidates in the upcoming general election:

Rossi (R) FEC link	$4,098,669.12
Total receipts	$4,073,609.43
Total individual contributions	$3,651,459.43
Party committee contributions	$5,000.00
Other committee contributions	$416,850.00
Candidate contributions	$300.00
Transfers from other authorized committees	$5,000.00
--------	--------
Schrier (D) FEC link
Total receipts	$5,343,212.64
Total contributions     $4,920,643.48	$4,920,643.48
Total individual contributions	$4,650,628.61
Party committee contributions	$0.00
Other committee contributions	$264,614.87
Candidate contributions	$5,400.00
Transfers from other authorized committees	$421,603.22

Its pretty clear from the data that the two campaigns are about equal in financial resources, with Schrier somewhat ahead in the overall.  The question for Dr Schrier is, What mysterious forces operate in the Rossi campaign that do not also operate in the Schrier campaign?  Where are those dark forces the Schrier's campaign is smearing Rossi for?

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You can compare all the Washington State 8th district Congressional candidates at https://www.fec.gov/data/elections/house/WA/08/2018/

Impolite Voters' Guide

Initiative 1631 (also in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese) -  Addresses global warming by taxing energy use.  The advertised purpose is to tax fossil fuel and electricity use.   Section 8, subsection 1 states "[a] pollution fee is imposed on ... electricity generated within or imported for consumption in the state"; and Subsection 5 adds that electricity from an unknown generation source may be taxed at an unspecified rate.  This includes hydropower.

Despite being vague, the basic tax rate starts at `14¢ per gallon of gasoline, approximately 4%.  Overall, energy consumption will be the about 4%, in the first year.  By the fifth year, the energy tax will be double that.  Everything's cost will be affected, from gasoline to food to keeping warm this winter.

Although the advertising for 1631 claims there will be 40,000 environmental jobs added to the state's economy, the initiative doesn't provide for any hiring.  The jobs claim comes from thin air.

Impolite recommends a NO vote.  I-1631 is a bad initiative.

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Initiative 1634 (also in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese) - Addresses local authorities (mainly Seattle) imposing additional taxes and fees  on the sales of food and food related products by banning additional taxes and fees.  Taxes and fees in place already will not be affected.

Impolite believes strongly in the People's right to eat whatever they want to with being taxed, saddled with a fee, or assessed anything other than the cost of the substance.  The government's right to tax ends at the human mouth.

Impolite recommends a YES vote on I-1634

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Initiative 1639 (also in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese) - Restricts firearms storage, acquisition, fuzzily describes assault firearms and poorly describes the new crime of "unauthorized" use.  Apparently a firearm owner will be charged with a crime if someone steals his firearm.  See this Impolite post for a more.

The initiative seems to require firearms not be accessible for use in an  emergency  (The US Supreme Court already struck down this requirement in the Heller (also see Cornell) decision.)  The apparent purpose of the initiative is to make everyone who uses a firearm a criminal.

Impolite is vehemently in favor of the right of the People to keep and bear arms in defense of self and the free state.  I-1639 is a very bad idea.

Impolite strongly recommends a NO vote on I-1639.

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Initiative 940 (also in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese) - Part 1, Section 2 states the requirement for law enforcement to get and maintain proficiency in "violence de-escalation and mental health training" in order to make Washington communities safer.

Its Impolite's guess that if the police find themselves in a shooting situation, lives are on the line.  The act is skewed toward encounter type training, which may be practical for some aspects of police work.

Part 6, Section 7,  immunizes law enforcement from civil prosecution if they act "in good faith."

Part 5 requires law enforcement to get and maintain certification in first aid.  Application of first aid becomes the first duty of the police in a crime situation.  This idea is stupid if a shooting situation is occurring.  Part 5 (2)(c) requires the cop drop everything and render first aid even while the bullets fly. 

I 940 is not well thought out, but some basic ideas have merit.  A rework should be done and the initiative should then be re-submitted to the People.

But as it is now, I-940 is half-baked.  Impolite recommends a NO vote on I-940.

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Advisory Vote No. 19 - Repeal or maintain the taxes and fees on oil transportation in Washington State.  This is a $13 million tax.  Impolite cannot find any record of an oil transportation spill (see other kinds of spills here)  in Washington State in the last 10 years, so it seems the previous tax and fee structure is working properly.  Raising the tax is stupid, except to a greedy legislature.  Advisory Vote No. 19 should be repealed.

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Senator candidate review

Maria Cantwell is the three-term incumbent, Democrat, Senator from Washington State.  She was originally elected in 2000 in a largely self-financed campaign.  She borrowed her campaign funds in part from Washington Mutual (WaMu).  She secured the loan with stock in the RealNetworks company.  

Later, when RealNetworks stock price collapsed, she calmly defaulted on her loan payments, in part preciopitating the collapse of WaMu.  Thousands of WaMu depositors were not so lucky.  Cantwell does not answer Impolite's emails about this subject.

Cantwell was "the other woman" (or perhaps "creditor") in a lobbyist's divorce in 2006.  

According to Ballotpedia, Cantwell is worth$3,771,505.50, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic Senate members in 2012 of $13,566,333.90.
Cantwell can't say anything good about how her 18 years in The Swamp have actually helped Washington families.

Impolite suggests its time for Cantwell to make way for a fresh face.
 

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Susan Hutchison is a former television news journalist, running as a Republican, for Senator against Maria Cantwell.  Hutchison ran the Charles & Lisa Simonyi Fund for Arts & Sciences philanthropy organization since its inception.  She has real experience doing what is good while minding the resources she has to do the job.

Wikipedia gives Hutchinson's background:

"Hutchison serves as an officer of the following boards: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (Washington, DC), Finance Chair (present) of Young Life International, Vice Chair (present) All-Star Orchestra, Vice President (present) and Chair (2006-2009) Seattle Symphony, and on the following boards: Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Children's Hospital Foundation, Discovery Institute, and Salvation Army.

"She also has been a spokesperson for the American Leprosy Mission, Northwest Medical Teams, Job Corps, and March of Dimes, and has emceed charitable auctions, fundraising events and dinners.

"Her civic involvement includes the Governor’s A+ Commission on Education, National Collegiate Athletic Association Committee on Compliance, the King County Independent Task Force on Elections, and the Chancellor’s Advisory Council for Seattle Community Colleges."

Ballotpedia has additional information here.

Impolite plans to vote for Susan Hutchison for a change.

Too easy to vote? -- again and again?

Go ahead, register to vote.  Several times.  No hurry.  You have until the day before the election, in case  polling shows things aren't going the "correct" way.

See how easy it is to register? See this scan of the new offer to register the state of Washington is sending out.

Click on the image to see a larger image.

In the words of the post card, "Register online.  Its quick and easy."

Washington State is going to have a bumper crop of voter fraud this time around.

Gun Control Initiative1639.org -- the facts about I-1639

The Initiative1639.org website reveals how I-1639 will hamper your ability to use weapons to defend yourself against criminals. (It must annoy the gun haters/gun grabbers to wonder how they forgot to register this domain name.) The site furnishes facts on how this gun-control initiative will infringe on the law-abiding citizens’ constitutional rights, and make it more difficult for you to protect your family.

Highlights of the extreme gun-control provisions in I-1639 include:

• Classifying ordinary, recreational rifles in common use as "assault" weapons;
• Imposing age-based gun purchase and possession bans on law-abiding adults, including a prohibition on adults aged 18-20 acquiring or purchasing semi-automatic rifles classified as "assault" weapons;
• Introducing new storage requirements that impede the use of guns for lawful self-defense and punish gun owners for the acts of criminals;
• Imposing a new $25 fee on sales and transfers of all guns that fall within the new definition of "assault" weapons;
• Allowing the government to establish a “verification” process to enforce compliance and authorize confiscation of firearms, based on the mandatory disclosure of information from gun retailers and gun owners.

Initiative1639.org makes it easy for voters to stay informed, register to vote, volunteer their time, and download material that highlights their opposition to this latest Seattle-elitist inspired gun grab.

Vote NO on I-1639.  It is the billionaires' initiative, not the peoples'

If you like a complete exposition of the dry facts --  https://www.i1639.org/ 

Gun control initative 1639 back on ballot

The Washington state Supreme Court has ruled that the proposed gun-restriction measure, Initiative 1639, will appear on November’s election ballot.  The Thurston Superior Court had ruled that the initiative did not conform to rules for initiatives.

But a four-page order released Friday and signed by Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst reversed the lower court’s ruling.

State law “does not allow for pre-election judicial review of the form, process, substance, or constitutionality of an initiative petition,” according to the order.

Secretary of State Kim Wyman had expressed concerns about the formatting of the petitions, but said she had no legal authority to block it from the ballot. The justices on Friday noted that in their decision.

The gun restriction initiative campaign relied on lavish contributions from Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, and venture capitalist Nick Hanauer.

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg's personal gun-ban front group, "Everytown for Gun Safety," donated $250,000.

If enacted, I-1639 will

• raises the purchase age to 21 for semi-auto rifles
• mandate training
• enhanced background checks
• waiting periods
• require owners to keep firearms secured
• leave lawful gun owners to face criminal charges if someone prohibited from possessing a weapon takes a lawfully owned firearm. 

If enacted, I'm sure I-1639 will save zero lives -- but the rich will never let the People's right to self-defense get in the way of nervous authoritarian control.

Source https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/washington-supreme-court-puts-gun-regulations-measure-i-1639-back-on-november-ballot/ 

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Impolite is against restrictions on the People's rights.

I-1639 strongly resembles the bills the legislature was bandying about last session, primarily Substitute Senate Bill 5444.  Also see Impolite's articles on Gun Control Washington follow up,  Civilian gun restriction plans in Washington State, and Attorney General Bob Ferguson calls for Gun Bans.

Its clear that if  I-1639 ballots a yes, then even though the Washington State Supreme Court must overturn it for the same reasons Thurston County did, the authoritarian left in the legislature will be emboldened to enact similar bans. 

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Washington State Constitution, Article 1, Section 24: RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS. 

"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."  [A citizen has the right to be armed, but not to form a private army].

Kent teachers union demands big money

The situation parents in Kent face is just one of many like it around the state. Schools there are scheduled to start Aug. 30, but the teachers union in Kent is prepared to strike if its salary demands aren't met – even though teacher strikes are illegal.

Keep in mind, the current Kent contract runs through this upcoming school year. The union is threatening to strike and disrupt the school year despite being under a current contract. Other teacher unions under contract might do the same.

Why? Because the state this year approved more money for teacher salaries, and local unions want to lock in big raises now. They want the large raises now so legislators feel obligated to spend more next year, when local property tax rates are lowered (which was part of the McCleary compromise approved by the state Supreme Court).

It's a "get while the getting is good" position, with no regard to what districts can afford going forward. The Seattle Times says school districts need to "need to show some backbone" and mustn't "bargain away money you don't have."

This whole high-pressure situation shows the absurdity of setting pay in 295 separate contract negotiations. The state pays for the bulk of school costs and salaries, so it's time to make the rational move to statewide bargaining.

-Rob McKenna

King County proposes ban on common firearms

The King County clowncil unveiled their plan to ban “Semi-automatic, High Velocity Weapons.”  They call disarming the innocent public "common sense."

In a July 23rd op-ed, Joe McDermott, the Council Chair of King County, Washington, introduced a multi-prong “King County Gun Safety Action Plan” aimed at reducing gun violence.

The plan requires that warning signs be posted at gun shops, as well as any place a firearm is sold or discharged, to advise about “the very real and significant risk to health and life inherent with firearm ownership.” (The language of these signs is to be approved by the local board of health.) Second, gun owners will be required to securely store firearms and ammunition at all times and in all places. And, citing recent school tragedies, the third proposal instructs the County to collaborate with local youth to identify “youth-informed solutions” for reducing gun crime. According to one source, a failure to post the warning signage would expose violators to civil penalties of up to $100 per day; a violation of the storage mandate would be a criminal misdemeanor punishable by jail time of up to 90 days and a fine of up to $1,000.

Additional proposals put forward include an ordinance to compel the King County Sheriff’s Office to destroy forfeited weapons in working condition and those that have been turned in by gun owners, and a demand that Washington State lawmakers repeal the current firearm preemption law. This would clear the way for even more drastic “solutions.” Upon repeal of the state preemption law, the King County Gun Safety Action Plan will immediately impose a ban on the sale and possession of “semi-automatic, high velocity weapons” and “high capacity magazines,” and raise the minimum age for possession or purchase of a firearm to 21 years of age.

Apart from the preemption issue, the Action Plan’s requirement that every gun owner securely store firearms and ammunition “at all times, on all premises” would mean that firearms cannot legally be kept available for immediate use by police and corrections officers, those being victimized by a domestic abuser or stalker, operators of businesses in high-crime areas, ordinary homeowners, and other law-abiding residents of the state. According to a 2015 report on crime by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC), a crime against the person occurs every 6.8 minutes in the state, including a violation of a no-contact or protection order every 40.4 minutes. Property crimes are even more frequent and take place at the rate of one every 1.8 minutes, with a robbery every two hours and a burglary every 13.2 minutes (the report lists robbery and burglary as property, not person, crimes because the primary object is the taking of something of value from the victim).

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A Seattle and King County Public Health analysis on firearms and crime statistics dated the same year is equally informative. Three out of four firearm hospitalizations in King County were due to unspecified “assaults.” The great majority of firearm deaths were suicides rather than homicides (68% and 29%, respectively), although for children 18 years and under, firearm suicides occurred at about half the rate of homicides. Accidental shootings made up a very small part of firearm homicides – between one and four percent. Motives for homicides include robbery, and gang and drug crimes. For victims aged between 18 and 29, for example, 21% of homicides were gang-related and 15% were drug-related; “robbery” accounted for a further five percent, and “revenge” was listed for eight percent.

The same document notes the absence of information tying these homicides to “risk factors” like “firearm ownership.” A statistical analysis in 2014 on King County gun homicides is more explicit: “Firearm ownership history (e.g. stolen, legally obtained) not collected.” In addition, information on criminal history was “missing” for three out of five suspects (58%), although out of the remaining group, almost ten percent had a prior conviction, more than five percent were on parole or probation, and almost six percent were wanted on warrants or other charges or were out on bail or bond at the time of the offense.

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Regardless of how King County residents keep their firearms, “firearm ownership” or storage practices have not been associated in any way with these crimes. To the extent information is available, the data indicate a sizable proportion of gun homicides involved criminals who were likely already precluded from lawfully possessing a firearm under state or federal law. (It follows, too, that gang bangers, robbers, and the other perpetrators of gun crimes will comply with the proposed “safe storage” mandate in the same manner as they obey existing laws on legal weapon possession and use.)

The most peculiar part of the King County Action Plan is the comprehensive ban on the possession and sale of “semi-automatic, high velocity weapons.” Without more, the language is ridiculously overbroad and will encompass most modern firearms, air guns, BB guns, and flare guns. Besides making other parts of the plan redundant, this would certainly run afoul of the rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment and the Washington State Constitution (the “right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired…”).

Overall, it is hard to tell how the components of the Action Plan will accomplish any meaningful change in public safety or the behavior of violent criminals, apart from making honest citizens more vulnerable by impeding their ability to defend themselves. What is obvious, though, is the credibility gap: anti-gun activists who roll out purported “common sense” gun laws, together with the oft-raised assertion that they aren’t going to take anyone’s guns away, shouldn’t be surprised at how few people are willing to take them at their word.



National Rifle Association, Institute for Legislative Action