8th Congressional district Congressional seat

Matt Larkin, the Republican candidate for Congress (WA - 8th district), opposes that idea that pregnant women have unlimited right to abortion on demand.  Larkin says he values human life

The Kim Schrier (WA - 8) congressional campaign is advertising that Matt Larkin would specifically deny access to abortion services to Spanish speakers.  She pretends Spanish speakers have special need to get abortions.  Her ad is in Spanish. 

In response to Kim Schrier,

Ella es racista al sugerir que las mujeres que habla Español tienen especial necesidad de acceder al aborto.

Vota por Larkin.

Framing Republicans in King County

In an attempt to create confusion and distrust in local elections, some lightweight political terrorist is trying to frame Republicans for interference with voting.

The alleged interference is in the form of signs telling voters that balloting ballot drop stations are "under surveillance."  The sign has a scannable QR link to the King County Republicans website.

The presence of the link should dissuade anyone from believing the Republicans are behind this.  Why would the culprit be so bold?  Anyway, when you go to the website, there is only the standard party organization stuff and nothing about balloting control.  Local media reporting the story put their bias on display by assuming the Republicans actually are behind this.

It's an obvious false flag operation.  You must wonder if anyone will fall for it.

In fact, this might be a crime.  Because there is actual voter intimidation going on, whoever posted the signs may face criminal prosecution.  But you can be sure the Republican Party had nothing to do with it.

King County Elections asked the Sheriff to investigate.  

(Chronical)

State of the income tax challenge

Last year, the State Legislature enacted a 7% tax on gains from the sale of stocks, bonds, businesses and other investments, if the net income  exceeded $250,000.  The Legislature, and present State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, claim that makes the tax  a sales tax.

Opponents of the new tax say a capital gains tax is an income tax.  The case is being handled by former State Attorney General Rob McKenna.

In march, the Douglas County Superior Court struck down the new tax.

The state appealed the decision. On Wednesday, the State Supreme Court agreed to hear the case directly, bypassing the State Appeals Court system.  The action is titled  Quinn v. State of Washington.

The 14th Amendment of the state's constitution states all taxes in the state must be "uniform upon the same class of property." Property is defined as "everything, whether tangible or intangible, subject to ownership."

(Freedom Foundation)

Gun Control - The Ten Round Limit & Supreme Court Rulings.

In a case that may have bearing on on Washington state citizens (see WA Senate Bill 5078), the Supreme Court of the United States issued orders in two other cases. ANJRPC v. Bruck and Duncan v. Bonta, challenge New Jersey and California laws that ban magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.  The National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action brought both actions.

The Third and Ninth Circuits, over dissents, had upheld the bans by balancing the state governments’ safety interests with the restriction on the right to keep and bear arms. Then both cases were appealed to the Supreme Court. 

On June 30th, SCOTUS vacated and remanded both cases back to the lower courts to rehear them and to apply the text-and-history test that it adopted in Bruen—not the interest-balancing tests that the courts applied previously. This is a good result that effectively gives us a second and better shot at winning the cases.  (SCOTUS summary disposition - pdf)

Initiative 1499 for repeal the income tax

The Democrat controlled legislature enacted a capital gains tax (SB 5096 - 2021-22) as a first step in the plan to impose a general state income tax (as if we don't already have high enough taxes). 

The Washington State Constitution prohibits an income tax, according to the Attorney General's office (WSoAG).  To get around this, the legislators called the tax an excise tax imposed on the capital gains of income earners.  This is dishonest bending of the meaning of the word "excise".  Plus, the Dems have already leaked plans to broaden their tax beyond capital gains and extend their income tax to the lower income brackets (Northern Light).

But citizen Joel Ard proposed Initiative 1499, to stop the legislature's dishonest nonsense.  1499 states in part:

(1) The state is prohibited from imposing or collecting taxes based on personal income.
(2) The prohibition in this section applies to taxes based on personal income whether imposed on taxpayers or taxpayers' employers and whether called incomes taxes, payroll taxes, or excise taxes and therefore includes a seven percent tax imposed on certain individuals' capital gains enacted in 2021 and repealed by section 2 of this act.

I-1499  will protect all Washington State residents from income tax.  The initiative text is here as a pdf.

We have to collect enough signatures to get the measure on the ballot (Permanent Offense).

Gun rights court victory

The Washington State Supreme Court gave law-abiding Washington gun owners something to celebrate.

In a unanimous opinion, the Court ruled that the City of Edmonds’ storage ordinances violated the state’s preemption law. These ordinances required firearms to be locked at all times within the home, and imposed liability on gun owners if their firearms were ever accessed by a prohibited person.  The case is captioned Bass v. City of Edmonds.

This victory comes after the Washington Court of Appeals issued a similar opinion last year. And yesterday, the state’s high court rejected the narrow reading of the preemption statute proposed by the City of Edmonds and the Everytown attorneys that were representing the city in this litigation: “The legislature plainly meant to broadly preempt local lawmaking concerning firearms except where specifically authorized.”

This ruling is a win for gun owners in Washington, and more importantly, a win against activist local governments that attempt to illegally infringe on their citizens’ rights. This decision says clearly that local governments in the Evergreen State do not have the authority to restrict Second Amendment rights.

The ruling will have an immediate impact across the state, too.  The City of Seattle has similar gun storage ordinances.

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Washington State gun rights summary,  by the National Rifle Association

State lawyers appeal capital gains tax case directly to Washington Supreme Court

As expected, the state of Washington on March 25 bypassed the appellate court level and took its arguments directly to the state Supreme Court following Douglas County Superior Court Judge Brian Huber’s ruling earlier this month striking down Washington’s new capital gains tax.

Supporters knew the tax had constitutional problems — in addition to being wildly unpopular with the public — when it was passed by the 2021 Washington State Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee. But they clearly hoped the matter would eventually find its way to the reliably liberal state Supreme Court, whose justices they hoped would ignore the clear language of Washington’s constitution and 90 years of legal precedent to validate it anyway.

The Freedom Foundation, along with the Seattle law firm Lane Powell PC, was the first to file a legal challenge to the tax. That lawsuit was later joined with another filed by a coalition of farmers, business owners, investors and the Washington Farm Bureau.

Direct appeals to the Supreme Court are rarely granted but, given the sweeping nature of Huber’s rebuke, attorneys for the state obviously feared a second setback at the appeals court level could put the Supreme Court justices in an even tighter box.

Looking at it from the perspective of Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, however, the appeal is a win-win proposition. It costs him nothing but the taxpayers’ money if the case is thrown out yet again, and it’s the court, not him, who looks bad if the tax is reinstated.

The Washington State Constitution unequivocally bans property and income taxes that aren’t applied uniformly. Lawmakers could have circumvented that obstacle by passing a flat tax requiring everyone to pay the same rate, but the Democrat-dominated Legislature demanded a measure that punishes behavior they oppose — in this case financial success.

(Freedom Foundation)

Status of WA state income tax

The Freedom Foundation is struggling to keep Washington State income tax free.  This summary of current events is provided by the Freedom Foundation.

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Moments after Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed the state’s new capital gains tax into law, the Freedom Foundation filed a lawsuit challenging the unconstitutional measure. Since filing the lawsuit nearly a year ago, we’ve earned some major wins.

The Washington Attorney General’s Office tried to get our case dismissed, but its attempts were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, the judge also ruled to hear the case in Douglas County and not move the hearing to Thurston County.

The biggest win, though, came earlier this month when Judge Brian Huber struck down the tax, declaring it, “… unconstitutional and invalid and, therefore, void and inoperable as a matter of law.”

These victories would not be possible without your generous support. But the fight isn’t over yet… and we need your help!

To the delight of Washington’s tax-and-spend leftists, Inslee is doubling down on his dream of imposing a new burden on taxpayers by appealing the state’s recent legal beatdown directly to the state Supreme Court.

Supporters of the tax knew it had constitutional problems — in addition to being wildly unpopular with the public — when it was passed by the 2021 Washington State Legislature. But they clearly hoped the matter would eventually find its way to the reliably liberal state Supreme Court, whose justices they hoped would ignore the clear language of Washington’s constitution.

Direct appeals to the Supreme Court are rarely granted. However, looking at it from the perspective of Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, the appeal is a win-win proposition. It costs him nothing but your tax dollars if the case is thrown out yet again, and it’s the court, not him, who looks bad if the tax is reinstated.

Regardless of whether the next legal fight ends up before the state Supreme Court or the state Court of Appeals, the Freedom Foundation’s legal team is moving forward to defend Judge Huber’s decision. 

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The Freedom Foundation's efforts do not com free, but they are certainly less expensive than unlimited government tax-and-spend would be.  We can help the foundation gear up for the next battle in this saga.  Give to the Freedom Foundation

Losing gun rights

Thanks, everybody, for your efforts to stop the vile stupidity from the gun-control Democrats in Olympia.

Governor Jay Inslee turned his back on law-abiding gun owners and ignored overwhelming public opposition, and has once again snubbed our right to self-defense.  This morning, the Governor signed anti-gun measures, Senate Bill 5078, House Bill 1705, and House Bill 1630.  The NRA and Second Amendment supporters from across the state crowded virtual committee rooms and legislator inboxes with cries of "Vote No," and "Veto," setting state records for public engagement in numerous hearings.  

Despite that, Governor Inslee decided that making the anti-gun Washington elite happy was more important than allowing the law-abiding populace of his state to be able to defend themselves and their loved ones effectively.  ​

The 10-round magazine ban is enacted.  Senate Bill 5078 bans the manufacture, sale, transfer, importation, etc., of magazines that “are capable of holding,” or hold more than, 10 rounds of ammunition.  This includes conversion kits or parts from which any such magazine may be assembled.  These so-called “high capacity” magazines are, in fact, standard equipment for commonly-owned firearms that many Americans constitutionally and effectively use for an entire range of lawful purposes, such as self-defense or competition.  Any violation of this measure is a gross misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum of 364 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $5,000.

The "Ghost Guns" ban is enacted.  House Bill 1705 further restricts the centuries-old practice of manufacturing firearms for personal use and self-defense by imposing requirements that far exceed those in federal law.  It prohibits private individuals from possessing certain unregulated components commonly used by Americans to make their own firearms for self-defense, sport and hobby, and from possessing currently legal firearms that don’t have serial numbers. This bill makes lawfully built firearms retroactively illegal if built after 2019. 

The ban on firearms from election-related places,school board and municipal meetings.  House Bill 1630 prohibits open carry at school board meetings, municipal meetings and election-related places.   Further, HB 1630 bans all firearms at ballot counting centers, including by Concealed Pistol License  holders. 

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Public policy that looks to disarm those who follow the laws in hopes that criminals will do the same is dangerous, misguided, and shameful.  The NRA-ILA has fought these measures across the United States and has brought legal challenges against similar unconstitutional magazine bans from New Jersey and California.

Stand and Fight. And do not vote for or donate to Democrats.

Legilslative activity summary & gun restrictions

309 regulatory and tax bills passed both houses of the Washington state legislature.  The list of all 309 bills can be found at this link.  

The governor may not have signed all bills yet, so they may not yet be law.

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The following bills are on the governor's desk.  Governor Inslee has not signed them into law yet.

• Senate Bill 5078 - The 10-round magazine ban
• House Bill 1705 - “GHOST Guns” ban
• House Bill 1630 - Ban firearms from election-related places, school board and municipal meetings
• House Bill 1901 - Expands Red Flag laws & prohibit firearms possession through civil protection orders

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Please email Governor Jay Inslee and urge him to VETO these bills.   Tell him the state has no right to complicate a person's self-defense.  Also, remind him the state constitution recognizes our individual right to be armed in defense of self (Article 1, Section 24) 

Here's a suggested message:

Please veto Senate Bill 5078 and House Bill 1705, HB 1630 & HB 1901

"The state has no right to complicate a person's self-defense.  The state constitution recognizes our individual right to be armed in defense of self (Article 1, Section 24).  Firearm restrictions only affect the law abiding, and will not stop criminals even slightly.

Thank you for your attention"

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The Legislature is not scheduled to reconvene until January 2023.