Gun rights at risk -- Olympia

Your self defense rights are under attack in Washington state. This week, the Washington House and Senate could consider and pass seven different anti-gun measures that could lead to the most restrictive gun laws in the country, and your lawmakers need to hear from you now!  

Please contact your State Senator and Representative, and ask them to OPPOSE the below gun control measures.  Email your legislators. or you can click here to send the legislature a canned message via the NRA's easy-to-use link to contact the legislature.

SEMI-AUTOMATIC FIREARMS BAN - Senate Bill 5217 arbitrarily classifies many popularly-owned semi-automatic firearms as so-called “assault weapons” and bans their possession, manufacture, transfer, etc.  These firearms are widely used for self-defense, recreational shooting, and hunting, and have now been vilified due to cosmetic features.  It is extremely important that NRA Members and Second Amendment supporters contact their lawmakers in opposition to SB 5217.

MAGAZINE BAN - Senate Bill 5078, bans the manufacture, possession, sale, transfer, etc., of magazines that “are capable of holding,” or hold more than, 17 rounds of ammunition. Amendments to the bill are expected to lower this to 12 or even 10 rounds. 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 legally and effectively use for an entire range of legitimate purposes, such as self-defense or competition.  Those who own non-compliant magazines prior to the ban are only allowed to possess them on their own property and in other limited instances, such as at licensed shooting ranges or while hunting.  Prohibited magazines have to be transported unloaded and locked separately from firearms, and must be stored locked at home, making them unavailable for self-defense.  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. ​

ANTI-PREEMPTION - Senate Bill 5568 guts the state’s preemption laws.  SB 5568 will expand gun free zones and permit municipalities to ban the open carry of firearms.  These types of measures result in a complex patchwork of gun laws across the state that ensnare otherwise law-abiding gun owners, turning them into criminals.

"GHOST" GUNS BAN - 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 seeks to prohibit private individuals from possessing certain unregulated components commonly-used by hobbyists to make their own firearms, as well as possessing currently legal firearms that don’t have serial numbers.

BAN FIREARMS FROM ELECTION-RELATED PLACES - House Bill 1618 prohibits the carrying of any firearm, whether open or concealed, into an “election related office or facility” including polling places, voter registration centers, and more.  Violation would be a gross misdemeanor and revocation of a concealed pistol license for at least three years.

BAN FIREARMS FROM SCHOOL BOARD AND MUNICIPAL MEETINGS - House Bill 1630 prohibits the carrying of firearms at school board or local municipality meetings. Violation may also result in revocation of a concealed pistol license for at least three years.

EXPAND CIVIL PROTECTION ORDERS FOR CLEANING, STORING OR CARRYING FIREARMS - House Bill 1901 would allow petitioners for civil protection orders to assert that another has “coercive control” over them, leading to an unconstitutional revocation of firearm rights.  Examples of coercive control listed in the bill include “cleaning, accessing, displaying, using, or wearing a firearm in an intimidating or threatening manner” – even within one’s own home. This is ripe for abuse.

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• United States Constitution, 2nd Amendment "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
• Washington State Constitution, Article II, 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 [no private armies]."

Click here to send the legislature a message.  The National Rifle Association has furnished an easy to use link to contact the legislature. 

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Your rights are at risk this legislative session -- other articles

Magazine ban legislation moving ahead --- so lets stop it.

Washington Legislature: 10 Round Magazine Ban Legislation Passed the Senate  

Magazine 10 round limit up for a vote soon 

More poisonous gun control from Olympia

More poisonous gun control from Olympia

On Monday, the Senate Law and Justice Committee held a public hearing to consider an extreme "assault weapons" ban, Senate Bill 5217, and anti-preemption legislation, Senate Bill 5568 .  An executive session is scheduled for Thursday where these bills are expected to receive a vote.   

There is still time to contact Law & Justice committee members (link, L&J are about halfway down the page) and strongly urge them to OPPOSE Senate Bill 5217 and Senate Bill 5568 .

Senate Bill 5217 arbitrarily classifies many popularly-owned semi-automatic firearms as so-called “assault weapons” and bans their possession, manufacture, transfer, etc.  These firearms are widely used for self-defense, recreational shooting, and hunting, and have now been vilified due to cosmetic features.  It is extremely important that NRA Members and Second Amendment supporters contact their lawmakers in opposition to SB 5217.

Senate Bill 5568 deals with the state’s preemption laws.  SB 5568 will expand gun free zones and permit municipalities to ban the open carry of firearms.  These types of measures result in a complex patchwork of gun laws across the state that ensnare otherwise law-abiding gun owners, turning them into criminals.

These gun bills are a conspiracy to victimize the innocent.  We value individual rights and safety.  We support law because it is to protect the innocent individual.  So we must oppose Senate Bill 5217 and Senate Bill 5568

So you can email all the committee easily, here is list of the email addresses of the Law & Justice committee members:

manka.dhingra@leg.wa.gov; yasmin.trudeau@leg.wa.gov; mike.padden@leg.wa.gov; jim.mccune@leg.wa.gov; jim.honeyford@leg.wa.gov; patty.kuderer@leg.wa.gov; jamie.pedersen@leg.wa.gov; jesse.salomon@leg.wa.gov; keith.wagoner@leg.wa.gov

Be gentle. Be persuasive. We must stop this poisonous evil.

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Your rights are at risk this legislative session -- other articles

Magazine ban legislation moving ahead --- so lets stop it.

Washington Legislature: 10 Round Magazine Ban Legislation Passed the Senate  

Magazine 10 round limit up for a vote soon 

Gun rights at risk -- Olympia

Update on Gun Control in Olympia

Late breaking -The Magazine Ban - they are hot rushing this one through the Senate.

Senate Bill 5078, bans the manufacture, possession, sale, transfer, etc., of magazines that “are capable of holding,” or hold more than, 12 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 legally and effectively use for an entire range of legitimate purposes, such as self-defense or competition.  For example, the Glock 19 was the most commonly purchased firearm of 2021 and has a standard-issue magazine that holds 15 rounds of ammunition. 

Those who own non-compliant magazines prior to the ban are only allowed to possess them on their own property and in other limited instances, such as at licensed shooting ranges or while hunting.  Prohibited magazines have to be transported unloaded and locked separately from firearms, and must be stored locked at home, making them unavailable for self-defense.  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.

Please contact your State Senator and ask them to OPPOSE Senate Bill 5078.  

Comment on 5078.

 ​Find your district.

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You can tell the State legislature is back in session.  The Authoritarians has proposed a new batch of ways to take away our self defense.  Here are two more:

Senate Bill 5217 is an "assault weapons" ban. It arbitrarily classifies many popularly-owned semi-automatic firearms as so-called “assault weapons” and bans their possession, manufacture, transfer, etc. These firearms are widely used for self-defense, recreational shooting, and hunting, and have now been vilified due to cosmetic features. It is extremely important that Second Amendment supporters contact their lawmakers in opposition to SB 5217. 

Senate Bill 5568 deals with the state’s preemption laws. SB 5568 will expand gun free zones and permit municipalities to ban the open carry of firearms. These types of measures result in a complex patchwork of gun laws across the state that ensnare otherwise law-abiding gun owners, turning them into criminals.

State Your Opposition to Anti-Gun Measures in Olympia.  Click here.  You do not have to be an NRA member to use the link.

Truth control -- by Inslee

If Gov. Jay Inslee (D-WA) has his way, lying about politics will be come a crime.  Oh, no.  Politicians will be forced to stop speaking freely.

Gov. Inslee is calling on lawmakers in Olympia to make it a crime for "elected officials or candidates for office" to lie about election results.

"It should not be legal in the state of Washington for elected officials or candidates for office to willfully lie about these election results," Inslee said, according to a report from the Seattle Times.  No freedom of speech is tolerated.

But what a lie is is often a matter of opinion, especially in politics.  So what Inslee's proposal is that the opinion of the ruling class will be used to squelch the discussion of fact.  And no one will be allowed to oppose the ruling class's version of truth.

If the authorities can define political lies, they can control 'free' speech.   Inslee the Democrat has no use for the process of democracy. 

Gun control plans introduced in Olympia

Anti-gun legislators scheduled a hearing on three unnecessary gun control measures in the House Committee on Civil Rights and Judiciary.  The hearing has been set for Wednesday, January 12, at 10:00 a.m.

Please contact the committee members and ask them to OPPOSE House Bill 1618, House Bill 1630, and House Bill 1705. You will need to contact each member individually, so prepare a message you can copy and paste. 

This is more convenient ==>  Use the National Rifle Association's link to oppose Olympia's encroachments. 

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HB 1618 prohibits the carrying of any firearm, whether open or concealed, into an “election related office or facility” including polling places, voter registration centers, and more.  Violation would be a gross misdemeanor and revocation of a concealed pistol license for at least 3 years.  Contact your representative to oppose this bill. 

HB 1630 prohibits the carrying of firearms at school board or local municipality meetings. Violation may also result in revocation of a concealed pistol license for at least 3 years.  Contact your representative to oppose this bill.

HB 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 seeks to prohibit private individuals from possessing certain unregulated components commonly-used by hobbyists to make their own firearms, as well as possessing currently legal firearms that don’t have serial numbers.  Contact your representative to oppose this bill.

Each bill's page has a section titled "Available Documents" with a link to the current version of the bill.

January 6 and electoral coruption

US Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D, WA-07), wrote a lurid email about January 6 -- she was so shocked and frightened!  For some reason she thinks this will lend credence to her position on election integrity.

The noble sounding name For the People Act of 2021 is designed to allow ballot corruption by simplifying multiple registrations of one individual, eradicate confirmation of identification of the the voter and thereby diminish the role of the voters in the control government.

A group of aggrieved citizens, concerned about election integrity reminds Jayapal of  her desire to corrupt the electoral process in favor of her political party.

The email text:

Dear BobQat, -

Today is a somber day for our democracy, as we mark one year from the deadliest and most destructive attack on our Capitol since the War of 1812.

I was trapped in the House Chamber that day, and a year later, I remember each moment of it vividly. I remember the pounding of insurrectionists on the doors into the gallery where I was. I remember hearing the shot ring out. I remember preparing to use my gas mask and cane to fight back. I remember not knowing if I would make it out of our seat of democracy alive and not knowing if our democracy would survive.

A year later, the Big Lie persists in so many communities across this country as Trump and his Republicans in office continue to peddle dangerous misinformation.

That is exactly why we cannot stop until the insurrection is fully investigated — and every single person who was involved, either in the riot itself or in the planning and promoting of it, is held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. There must be justice for what occurred.

We also need to be honest about what happened and see clearly what was revealed to us. During the deadly insurrection, rioters were allowed to commit countless crimes on federal property, assault police officers, threaten to hang Mike Pence – and still walk out of the building once they were done tarnishing it.

It's time for accountability and justice. It's time to protect our democracy. That is why I am continuing my push for new voting rights legislation. And that is why it is so important that you engage in our political system and insist on voting rights for everyone. This is just too important for us to let up or stop fighting with everything we've got.

Talk soon, 

Pramila Jayapal
U.S. Representative (WA-07)

Inslee announced homelessness spending plans

Gov. Jay Inslee today announced his homelessness proposals for the 2022 legislative session, which will bolster Washington’s leadership in finding solutions for individuals living without shelter and help those at risk of becoming homeless.

The governor put forward the $800 million increase in spending proposal to address homelessness to:

• Pursue new avenues to help people remain in their homes
• Secure more facilities to provide permanent supportive and affordable housing
• Expand supportive services for people with behavioral health needs
• Transition encamped people to permanent housing solutions
• Restore the range of affordable housing types in our cities
  

"Unsheltered Washingtonians deserve a safe, warm and dry place to live, with additional resources available, if they need them. This is not only the right thing to do for these people, but the right thing to do for our state and our communities," Inslee said.

Text of the proposal release

View the press release event

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One of the underlying causes of housing shortage has to be the unlawful immigration of millions of needy.  Its self-evident that flooding basic housing with needy people will directly create homelessness.  Moreover, the flood of newcomers will squeeze out the current marginally housed persons into tent cities.

Washington State's new, redrawn, political districts -- finalized (for now)

Washington State has freshly redrawn its political districts.  The final maps (for the next ten years) are reproduced here:

WA State Legislative Districts

US Congressional districts

These maps can be found at https://www.redistricting.wa.gov/final-maps iffen you need a more detailed look.

The state Supreme Court decided not to intervene with the process and accepted the maps as drawn by the redistricting commission.

The Supreme Court decision was a little awkward in view of the fact that the redistricting commission had gummed up their process and did not get all their work handed in in time.  But the redistricting commission did present a plan.  It was this the Supreme Court accepted.

The commission web site puts it like this:

"The four voting commissioners on the Washington State Redistricting Commission were unable to adopt a districting plan by the midnight deadline on November 15, 2021. They did, however, approve Congressional District and Legislative District maps and are making them available to the public. You can access the Commissioner's approved district map pages."

Its been a lot of work in these tumultuous times.  The commissioners must have felt slightly incoherent

The religious right to decline any compulsion

For almost ten years now, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the State of Washington have targeted an elderly, small-town florist named Barronelle Stutzman. The case began when Barronelle declined to serve a long-time customer’s gay wedding. A few months ago, Barronelle, now 77, filed a request for a final rehearing of her religious liberty case with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of her business, Arlene’s Flowers.

This week, the ACLU offered, and Barronelle accepted, a five-thousand-dollar settlement. It’s a surprisingly small amount, given how long Barronelle has lived under the threat of losing her business, assets, and life savings due to exorbitant legal fees and penalties.

Maybe the ACLU has finally seen their case for what it is: petty bullying. Or, maybe they think the optics of bullying a grandmother are just bad. Either way, Barronelle has wisely, I believe, accepted the settlement. Here’s a review of the important facts of the case.

In 2014, Barronelle told a long-time customer and friend that she couldn’t create a floral arrangement for his wedding to another man. Throughout their many years of friendship, Barronelle had served this customer with her creative talents. However, due to her Christian beliefs about marriage, she couldn’t, in good conscience, create an arrangement for this occasion.

The friend said he understood the decision and asked for referrals for other florists. Barronelle recommended three. The two embraced, and then said goodbye.

All was quiet until the Attorney General for the State of Washington saw a social media post about the incident and decided to sue Barronelle for discrimination. In 2015, a trial court found her guilty of violating Washington’s anti-discrimination law. The Court also ordered her to pay a $1,000 fine and the ACLU’s legal fees, and to no longer accept wedding business unless she also agreed to serve gay weddings.

Her appeal to the State Supreme Court drew so much interest that oral arguments were held in a local college auditorium. The State Supreme Court ruled unanimously against Stutzman, citing Justice Anthony Kennedy’s Obergefell language and even claiming that to not service a same-sex wedding is to “disrespect and subordinate” gays and lesbians. The court also ruled that floral arrangements weren’t “speech” but instead “conduct,” and that even if the State had violated Barronelle’s right to free exercise, it was fair and legal to do so because they’d do it to everyone. In other words, they weren’t just singling out Barronelle.

From the beginning, Barronelle has been represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). In 2018, ADF appealed the Washington State court ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. After finding the State of Colorado guilty of animus toward the religious beliefs of baker Jack Phillips in a similar case, the Supreme Court vacated the Washington State Court decision and ordered them to re-examine Barronelle’s case. Not about to admit it had done anything wrong, the Washington State Court upheld their ruling against Barronelle.

Last year, ADF appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a baffling move, the Court declined to hear her case. ADF asked the Court to reconsider, something that rarely happens after denial.

Earlier this week, Barronelle accepted the ACLU’s settlement offer. This means she can retire in peace, having more than earned the right to step off the legal treadmill and out of the media spotlight, which she never sought. And, to be clear, not once did she compromise or violate her conscience throughout this whole ordeal. Instead, her courage, kindness, and long obedience have laid the groundwork for the kind of legal resistance against coercion that will certainly have to continue.

Barronelle now passes the baton in this important battle to protect religious freedom to the rest of us, especially to web designer Lorie Smith. Her case could go before the U.S. Supreme Court soon. The 10th Circuit ruled last summer that the State of Colorado could compel Lorie’s business, 303 Creative, to create websites with speech that violates her religious beliefs.

It’s impossible to know how many business owners, artists, and others have found courage for their own convictions by watching Barronelle. Her saga has made it clear to the rest of us that this kind of thing can really happen in the United States, and to say that religious liberty is under threat in this country cannot be dismissed as hyperbolic fear-mongering.

It’s also important to note that Barronelle made her original decision not only out of her own beliefs, but out of her concern for her friend, Rob. Barronelle was not willing to aid and abet behavior that was damaging to her friend’s soul. In other words, it is not only loving God, but also loving our neighbor, that will require courage in the days to come.

Stonestreet/Baer

Socialists and Seattle elections

BobOne, our satellite blogger in Seattle, submits the following opinion

Rank & file Democrats believe that government can take care of social problems  - it can't.  Elite Democrats in government think they are entitled to control society - which is why freedom dies.

Pretty sure the use of 'Democrats' and 'think' in the same sentence violates several basic tenets - Magna Carta, Constitution (42nd Amendment), T'Logica of Vulcan, Motorcycle helmet regulations, the instruction tag on my mattress, Ohm's law....

At least Seattle took a couple tiny steps away from utter bats++t socialism in last week's election.

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Socialists don't care if the poor get poorer ... that's okay with them.  They just want to make the rich get poorer.   As long as the socialists are in control of the misery.