IF YOU LIVE IN THE 7th, 8th OR 26th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS, OR THE 9TH KING COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT OR 1ST SNOHOMISH COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT, THIS ALERT IS FOR YOU. For everyone else on the list, my apologies for expending the bandwidth.
There are five elections of interest to gun owners next month, three in the state Senate and two county council races.
GOAL has endorsed the following candidates in the races indicated:
7th Legislative District: Senator John Smith (R)
8th Legislative District: Senator Sharon Brown (R)
26th Legislative District: Representative Jan Angel (R) (running for the Senate)
King County 9th District: Reagan Dun (R)
Snohomish County: Ken Klein (R)
Election Day is not until November 5th, but mail-in ballots are already in mailboxes.
GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail, send a message to “[email protected]“or to “[email protected].” Please pass GOAL Post on to anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights. Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun club’s bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s). PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at “[email protected]” or by telephone at (425) 985-4867. Unfortunately, I am unable to mail hard copy GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.
If you believe you have received this e-mail in error, please e-mail me at “[email protected]” with the words “Unsubscribe GOAL Post” in the subject line. I will remove your name immediately. Keep in mind GOAL Post is also published on several gun lists. If you received GP via a list, you must contact that list’s admin to unsubscribe.
Upcoming WAC gun show(s):
Monroe 2-3 November
Puyallup 23-24 November
“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.”
GOAL Post 2013-UPDATE 3
Legislative Update from Olympia 17 October 2013
KERRY SIGNS UN ARMS TRADE TREATY
BI-PARTISAN GROUP OF SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES OPPOSE
LEGISLATIVE “WORK SESSION” ON BACKGROUND CHECKS
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE GOES HOG WILD FOR GUN CONTROL
COLORADO RECALLS SENATORS FOR ANTI-GUN VOTES
INITIATIVES
GRASSROOTS ACTIVISM TRAINING EVENTS
On 25 September, United States Secretary of State John Kerry signed the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty, making the United States the 113th country to sign. However, at this time only seven countries have actually ratified the treaty (not all countries require ratification, especially those countries that are effectively dictatorships). At this point, the United States is a l-o-n-g way from ratification. Sooner or later, Senate Majority Leader Harry “Friend of the NRA” Reid will undoubtedly push for a ratification vote, but there are far too many other controversial issues facing the Senate right now.
Bi-partisan groups of 51 U.S. Senators and 101 Representatives sent separate letters to President Obama opposing the UN ATT. While ratification by the Senate is unlikely, there is something to keep in mind: the Constitution requires approval of 2/3 of Senators to ratify a treaty. This DOES NOT necessarily mean 67 Senators. The Constitution says “2/3 of Senators PRESENT” when a vote is taken. A case of a Republican-only flu or similar legislative shenanigans could put us at risk. Would Harry Reid do that?
On Thursday, 3 October, the Washington state House Judiciary Committee conducted a “legislative work session” on firearm background checks. This was not a public hearing, but an internal workshop intended to provide information to lawmakers on the tops of the session. Of the 13 members of the House Judiciary Committee, only five members attended the session — all Democrats. In addition to state employees from the Washington State Patrol, the Department of Licensing, the Department of Social and Health Services, and Thurston County Sheriff John Snaza testifying, input was taken from a Special Agent from the Seattle Office of the ATF and two representatives of the gun community: myself and a Federal Firearms Licensee from Vancouver.
While the session was supposed to inform legislators about how the current background system works, most of the testimony from the state employees sounded like it was a budget development session, with several complaints about inadequate staffing, inadequate funding, inadequate time to conduct background checks, etc. (And gun control advocates want to EXPAND the background check requirement EXPONENTIALLY by requiring background checks on ALL firearm transfers (including loans)?
DSHS recommended expanding the current mental health prohibition to include individuals put on a 72-hour mental health “hold” for evaluation. ABSOLUTELY NOT. Haven’t they heard about fundamental Constitutional rights and due process?
There was brief discussion of extending the state handgun background check process (separate white form, etc) to long guns. No one was hot for the idea, but that doesn’t mean it won’t come up in January!
The sole FFL present had very little to say.
I covered gun show procedures, both as conducted by the Washington Arms Collectors and commercial gun shows, then spent time addressing other background check-related issues, as well as answering questions posed by the Representatives present.
During its 2013 session, the Democrat-dominated California legislature passed at least 11 gun control bills. Given the demographics in the Golden State, that is likely all we can expect from Sacramento as long as our republic lasts. To his credit, Governor Jerry “Governor Moonbeam” Brown (D) only signed four of the bills into law. He vetoed the remaining SEVEN.
Bills that are now law in the State of California include those prohibiting the use of lead ammunition for hunting (!), expanding the child access prevention (CAP) law (i.e. “lock up your safety” adding full civil liability for parents/guardians, banning the sale of parts or repair kits that could be used to build a magazine with a capacity of greater than ten rounds, and finally, expanding the current requirement for a buyer to obtain a “handgun safety certificate” to buy a handgun to long gun firearm transfers as well.
Brown vetoed bills expanding and adding new registration fees to semi-automatic “assault weapons” not previously covered as well as banning future sale/transfer, further restricting the sale of handguns not on the official “Attorney General’s approved handgun list” (almost all older handguns), effectively repealing California’s existing already-less-than-perfect state preemption law, making it a crime to fail to report to police a stolen firearm, banning gun shows at the Cow Palace (a hot issue in San Francisco), banning certain non-traditional shotguns, and lastly, expanding the list of persons prohibited from possessing a firearm to include anyone convicted of DUI Of a motor vehicle or boat.
As sure as death and taxes, most of those bills will be back before the governor in the future.
Colorado is another state where Democrat-dominated politics resulted in passage of restrictive gun control laws this year, including a ban on normal capacity magazines. Colorado gun owners did not take this sitting down. They ran recalls on two of the leading state Senators involved in the gun control feeding frenzy: Senate President John Morse and Senator Angela Giron. The recall petition drives were successful AND the recall elections themselves were successful by strong margins. Both long-term state Senators are now drawing unemployment. The Democrats now hold only a one-seat majority in the state Senate, 18 to 17, and gun owners have initiated a THIRD recall election for another gun-grabbing Senator.
The success of the Colorado recalls has sent signals throughout the western states and perhaps nationwide about what can happen to elected officials who demonstrate a willingness to deny fundamental rights. Meanwhile USA Today reported that pro-gun-control Democrat Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper is urging outside gun control groups (such as soon-to-be-unemployed Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns) to STAY OUT OF COLORADO. Bloomberg contributed $350,000 to Morse and Giron, money thrown down the tube.
Both pro-gun I-591 and anti-gun I-594 are moving forward. The Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility says it turned in 150,000 petition signatures to the Secretary of State a short time ago. They’re now collecting additional signatures to ensure they have a margin of safety for the 246,000 VALID signatures needed to get the initiative before the legislature in January. I-591, too, is close to the necessary amount of signatures needed to move forward. They should be turning over signatures in the near future.
I expect BOTH initiatives will be certified by the Secretary of State and move over to the legislature for action during the 2014 regular session, which begins in mid-January. It is up to the legislature to pass either or both, to ignore either or both, or to pass an amended version of either of the initiatives. 2014 is an election year, so I expect at this time that the legislature will punt, and kick BOTH initiatives to a vote of the people in November 2014. That means another major campaign during 2014 to ensure we prevail on election day.
While we’re discussing initiatives, two “grassroots campaign workshops” will be conducted in Western Washington this weekend. These political action workshops run 8 hours and cover different material than the previous meeting in Tacoma.
This Grassroots Campaign Workshop teaches you how to manage or contribute to a winning campaign, advocacy organization, or legislative initiative. Ideal attendees are campaign staff, candidates, activists, or groups interested in working on ballot initiatives, propositions, or legislation.
Topics to be covered include developing a persuasive message, building grassroots infrastructure, recruiting and managing volunteers, getting voters to the polls, building strong coalitions and targeting voters with a specific message.
The workshops will be conducted on Saturday and Sunday — this weekend. Saturday’s event is at the Silverdale Beach Hotel, 3073 NW Bucklin Hill Rd, Silverdale, WA. On Sunday, the event goes down at Picasso Catering, 3822 S. Union Ave Suite D, Tacoma, WA. Both events run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Registration: $25.00 + breakfast and lunch will be offered at the training for $10.00 total.
Downloadable event flyers and agendas are also on the RSVP links.
BILL STATUS, BILL POSITION and PUBLIC HEARING SECTIONS DELETED UNTIL THE LEGISLATURE RESUMES ACTION.
GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail, send a message to “[email protected]”or to “[email protected].” Please pass GOAL Post on to anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights. Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun club’s bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s). PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at “[email protected]” or by telephone at (425) 985-4867. Unfortunately, I am unable to mail hard copy GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.
If you believe you have received this e-mail in error, please e-mail me at “[email protected]” with the words “Unsubscribe GOAL Post” in the subject line. I will remove your name immediately. Keep in mind GOAL Post is also published on several gun lists. If you received GP via a list, you must contact that list’s admin to unsubscribe.
Upcoming WAC gun show(s):
Monroe 2-3 November
Puyallup 23-24 November
“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.”
Initiative 591 (the *good* initiative) is a little past the half-way point in terms of gathering the necessary signatures to qualify to be placed on the ballot and the January deadline is coming. Individuals and businesses gathering signatures are doing a great job, but we need to get those completed petition forms turned in as quickly as possible to the YesOn591 campaign.
In the last four election cycles, no group or individual has successfully qualified an initiative measure for placement on the ballot without spending at least $750,000 on the effort. The YesOn591 effort is two thirds of the way towards meeting that threshold.
If we don’t get Initiative 591 on the ballot and win it will be the end of gun shows in the State of Washington and of the Washington Arms Collectors. This is a battle that gun owners must win.
A $30 donation from each member of the Washington Arms Collectors to the YesOn591 campaign would easily meet that number. We would know, as much as anyone can, that Initiative 591 would appear on the ballot to protect gun rights in the State of Washington.
GOAL Post 2013-UPDATE 2
Legislative Update from Olympia 30 August 2013
NO OBAMA SIGNATURE ON THE UN TREATY… YET
OBAMA TELLS MAYORS: “I’LL TAKE UNILATERAL ACTION”
UN GUN CONFISCATION LETTER
GUN CONTROL PLAYBOOK REVEALED
SEATTLE “NO GUNS ALLOWED” CAMPAIGN
I-591 SIGNATURES AND DONATIONS NEEDED
Despite repeated assurances from White House spokesman Jay Carney that President Obama will sign the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (UN ATT) before the end of the summer Congressional recess, Obama has yet to do so. He only has four days left before the Capitol resounds with the pitter-patter of Congressional soles on the marble floors. There is no doubt he will sign the treaty. Given that it stands almost no chance of Senate ratification, this is merely form over substance, something Obama is very good at. Obama speaks loudly, but carries a little stick.
(Could it be he’s distracted with Syria, his European allies having abandoned him in using force against that rogue nation? The Europeans and most Americans get it: if Muslim wants to kill Muslim, who are we to intervene? Especially in support of Al Qaeda-backed “rebels.” Of 154 countries who voted “for” the UN ATT, only 83 have signed it to date.)
Speaking of form over substance, earlier this week President Obama called mayors of some of our biggest cities to the White House to tell them he is prepared to by-pass Congress and take unilateral action to impose his gun control agenda on the American people. (Notably absent was the President’s former Chief of Staff and current mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, murder capital of the U.S.)
Sure enough, a day later ventriloquists dummy Joe Biden announces two measures to be imposed by Presidential decree. The first is a block on the return of U.S. surplus firearms exported to allied countries over the past half century. These are mostly M1 rifles (Garands) and M1 carbines, both highly desirable by collectors and — in the case of the Garands — by competitive shooters. I don’t recall hearing reports of 9 1/2 pound, 43″ long Garands, or slightly shorter carbines, being used on the mean streets of D.C. or Chicago, both fine examples of the effectiveness of strict gun controls..
The second measure would require background checks of officers and trustees of corporations/trusts who purchase National Firearms Act of 1934 -controlled weapons (machine guns, short barreled rifles and shotguns, suppressors and some others). It is my understanding the principals of such entities already undergo a six-month ATF background check when the apply to buy such devices. Again, pure form over substance which will do nothing to prevent misuse of firearms by criminals. But as we all know, it’s not about guns, it’s about control.
(Maybe Obama should consider sending all these Garands and carbines to Syrian rebels.)
In an earlier meeting with gun control advocates, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he will introduce a “new” gun bill during the 2014 session. Presumably it will be more of the same: expanded background checks and whatever else he thinks he can force through the Senate. Look for any such action to follow immediately on the heels of a mass shooting or some other highly visible incident.
A letter purportedly from the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs is floating around the internet. The letter allegedly outlines the master plan to disarm civilian populations in member nations. The UN denies the existence of the letter or of any such plan. Is the letter a hoax? Likely. Is the intent of the UN to impose citizen disarmament worldwide? Undoubtedly.
A liberal think tank has produced an 80-page playbook to guide gun control advocates in passing or promoting gun control legislation. This first surfaced recently in efforts to push I-594, the gun control initiative right here in Washington. They stress the use of emotion and emotional images over fact and logic in making their case. This is actually nothing new. Anyone who has attended Judiciary Committee hearings has witnessed the hype and emotion used to override and suppress facts. Criminal code, environmental issues… it doesn’t matter. Emotion almost always trumps facts, especially with the misinformed public (or legislators with an agenda). Keep in mind that, reprehensible as they may seem, these tactics can be used by our side as well.
Facing declining support in his bid for reelection as mayor of Seattle, Mike McGinn decided to play the gun control card, frequently a sure winner in liberal Seattle. Joining hands with Washington Ceasefire, McGinn is pushing businesses to post “Gun Free Zone” signs in their businesses. In and of themselves, the signs have no force of law. If you are found with a gun on their premises (“concealed” means concealed), you will be asked to leave. Only if you refuse to leave at that point are you in violation of the trespass code — NOT a gun violation. A list of businesses who don’t want business from gun owners is conveniently posted by Washington Ceasefire at http://washingtonceasefire.org/ (I notice most of the steak houses I frequent are not on the list.) The only remaining question is will armed robbers use the list to choose targets?
As summer fades, signature gathering for Initiative 591 (I-591) continues at a heated pace. Signatures are still needed on petitions, and donations are still needed to maintain the campaign. Links to request petitions, and to make donations, are available at http://wagunrights.org/
BILL STATUS, BILL POSITION and PUBLIC HEARING SECTIONS DELETED UNTIL THE LEGISLATURE RESUMES ACTION.
GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail, send a message to “[email protected]“or to “[email protected].” Please pass GOAL Post on to anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights. Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun club’s bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s). PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at “[email protected]” or by telephone at (425) 985-4867. Unfortunately, I am unable to mail hard copy GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.
If you believe you have received this e-mail in error, please e-mail me at “[email protected]” with the words “Unsubscribe GOAL Post” in the subject line. I will remove your name immediately. Keep in mind GOAL Post is also published on several gun lists. If you received GP via a list, you must contact that list’s admin to unsubscribe.
Upcoming WAC gun show(s):
Monroe 14-15 September
Puyallup 12-13 October
“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.”
GOAL Post 2013-UPDATE 1
Legislative Update from Olympia 26 July 2013
NO ACTION IN D.C.
ZIMMERMAN VERDICT REACTION
STAND-YOUR-GROUND UNDER ATTACK
AUGUST 6 PRIMARY ELECTION
I-591 ADVANCES
SAF SUES SEATTLE
CPL TRAINING REQUIREMENT?
There has been no action on S. 649 or any other anti-gun legislation on Capitol Hill since the last GOAL Post. Congress begins its 30-day summer recess in a week (in other words, a vacation, where many members fly around the world — at taxpayer expense — on “fact-finding” trips). Some meetings may be held during the recess.
The acquittal of George Zimmerman in the February 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin has generated outrage from the left. From the President and Attorney General on down, “Trayvon” has become the latest god in the pantheon of the left, with generally — but not entirely — non-violent rallies all across the country. By finding George Zimmerman not guilty by reason of self defense, the jury in effect indicted Martin for aggravated assault — thus justifying Zimmerman’s use of lethal force.. But the mainstream media has yet to make that connection. Just as they haven’t bothered to delve into Trayvon’s school disciplinary record, or his diversion into a non-criminal program when he was allegedly found in possession of burglary tools and stolen jewelry.
(Retired police officer, gun writer, frequent “expert witness” on gun issues — and SAF board member — Massad Ayoob has written a series of blogs analyzing the Zimmerman case. They’re published in Backwoods Home magazine. Next update I’ll try to include links to all of his coverage of the issue.)
Some vocal African-American leaders (or those who claim to speak for African-Americans) immediately started a crusade against stand-your-ground laws, claiming they are racist (especially interesting, given that in Florida at least, African-American defendants use stand-your-ground as a defense much more frequently than do whites; proportionately, and they have a higher acquittal rate with that defense). President Obama and Attorney General Holder jumped on the “pile-on-stand-your-ground” bandwagon as well, and the Congressional Black Caucus (their name, not mine) has started hearings about this evil, evil law. .(Meanwhile totally ignoring the fact that Zimmerman did NOT invoke stand-your-ground, nor did the prosecutor raise it at trial.)
The Black Congressional Caucus also conveniently ignores the fact that stand-your-ground is STATE LAW, not federal. Congress doesn’t write — or repeal — state law. I guess they pick and choose “facts” to suit their current agenda.
Just as President Obama conveniently forgot the fact that when he was a state Senator in Illinois, in 2004, he signed on as a co-sponsor to SB 2386, an EXPANSION of Illinois’ stand-your-ground law. And the Illinois Senate passed it UNANIMOUSLY, while the House had two dissenting votes of 116 Representatives voting. I guess President Obama was “FOR it before he was AGAINST it” (where have I heard that before?).
August 6th is primary day in Washington. As an off-year election, most activity centers on local races, but there are a couple of races that need our attention. Representative Jan Angel (R) is running against appointed Senator Nathan Schlicher (D) in the 26th District. At the county level, 9th District King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn (R) has been solid on the gun issue since he was first elected several years ago. (Please note that those names will only appear on ballots of those who reside in the 26th Legislative District or District 9, King County.
Signature gathering for Initiative 591 (I-591) is progressing well. More than 50,000 signatures have been gathered to date, of the 246,000 required before January 4, 2014. I-591 simply prohibits firearm confiscation without due process, and prohibits the state from adopting a background check standard more stringent than the current federal standard (as I-594 will do, if passed). Additional information about I-591, to include requests for blank petitions, may be obtained at http://protectourgunrights.net/ Blank petitions may also be found at WAC gun shows in Puyallup and Monroe. Protect Our Gun Rights also has a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/protectourgunrights.
Last week the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation filed a lawsuit in King County Superior Court against the City of Seattle, alleging that the City failed to turn over complete records requested under state public disclosure law. The records involved the gun buyback program conducted by Seattle last January. In the suit, SAF claims the city withheld some documentation and only learned of its existence when it was quoted in an on-line Seattle P-I article and severely redacted (blacked out sections of) others. The original document request was fulfilled when Seattle turned over a disk containing selected documents to SAF, then charging them 10 cents per “page” for the disc. The documents sought include internal communications between city employees and with outside gun control advocates and/or organizations.
A western Washington gun club has distributed a flyer offering classes to qualify an individual to apply for a concealed carry license issued by the State of Utah. There are three states that issue licenses to non-residents that offer the greatest variety of reciprocal carry states: Arizona, Florida and Utah. Of those, Utah is the only one that requires a state-unique training class. The training requirements for Arizona and Florida may be satisfied with a variety of courses or by proof of military service. My principal reason in bringing this up is the notice at the bottom of the flyer: “Washington is moving towards a training requirement for the Washington Concealed Pistol License. Get ahead of the curve by taking this highly respected concealed firearm training. !!!”
To the best of my knowledge, based on 20 years lobbying on the gun issue in Olympia, that statement is not true. The last time the legislature attempted to add a training requirement to obtain a CPL was in 1994. It was defeated. No bills nor amendments have been offered since to force that issue. There is no legislation currently under consideration that would require such training. Studies have demonstrated that there is no difference in “bad” shootings in states that do not have a training requirement versus those that do.
For the record, I am an NRA-certified firearm safety instructor. I firmly believe that if an individual chooses to keep a firearm, and especially if he or she chooses to carry one in public, they assume a moral obligation to obtain the best training they can afford. But I am totally opposed to allowing the state to determine what that training might be. A test to exercise the fundamental right of self defense is the same as a poll test, and the Supreme Court ruled that unconstitutional decades ago. (I would add that, in my opinion, ignorant voters cause far greater harm to society than do ignorant gun owners.)
BILL STATUS, BILL POSITION and PUBLIC HEARING SECTIONS DELETED UNTIL THE LEGISLATURE RESUMES ACTION.
GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail, send a message to “[email protected]“or to “[email protected].” Please pass GOAL Post on to anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights. Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun club’s bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s). PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at “[email protected]” or by telephone at (425) 985-4867. Unfortunately, I am unable to mail hard copy GOAL Posts to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.
If you believe you have received this e-mail in error, please e-mail me at “[email protected]” with the words “Unsubscribe GOAL Post” in the subject line. I will remove your name immediately. Keep in mind GOAL Post is also published on several gun lists. If you received GP via a list, you must contact that list’s admin to unsubscribe.
“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.”
Tuesday, 6 August, is Primary Election Day in Washington. These off-year elections primarily focus on local elections — county and city level elections as well as bodies such as water districts and the like. For that reason there is no statewide ballot and many people will NOT receive any ballot. GOAL generally does not comment on those elections because state preemption (RCW 9.41.290) limits almost all gun legislation to the state legislature.
This year we have three open Senate seats up for election or confirmation, based on vacancies as a result of the 2012 general election. Two are in eastern Washington, in generally Republican districts, the 7th and 8th.
Senator John Smith (R), newly appointed to the 7th Legislative District, has drawn two primary opponents, both Republicans. Senator Sharon Brown (R) of the 8th District also has drawn two Republican opponents. In both cases, the top two in each election will advance to the general election in November.
The gun issue was muted in the Majority Coalition-controlled state senate during the last session. For that reason GOAL is not making any recommendations in those primaries.
The most critical Senate race is in the 26th Legislative District, covering parts of Kitsap and Pierce counties. In that race, appointed Senator Nathan Schlicher (D) is being challenged by Representative Jan Angel (R). Schlicher is a physician with no history on the gun issue. Jan Angel has a solid history of solid support of gun owners and gun rights. For that reason GOAL is supporting Jan Angel; for Senate in the 26th District.
All we can say about the King County Executive’s race is that incumbent Dow Constantine had a solid ANTI-gun record while he was in the state legislature.
One exception to preemption is no-shooting zones, created by the County Councils/Commissions. For the King County Council, Reagan Dunn (R) is running for reelection in the 9th County Council District (east side). Dunn recently ran for Attorney General and was found best qualified by a number of newspapers and civic leaders. Unfortunately the statewide electorate picked the other guy.
Dunn’s mother, former Congresswomen Jennifer Dunn, was with us on the gun issue and her son Reagan has followed her lead there. Reagan Dunn is comfortably pro-gun, to the point he commented during his AG race about his AR-15. Dunn has been with gun owners throughout his time with the County Council.
GOAL Post 2013-SPECIAL 8
Legislative Update from Olympia 5 July 2013
LEGISLATURE ADJOURNS, BUDGET PASSED
GOAL POST TO CONTINUE
INITIATIVE UPDATES
LAWSUITS FILED CHALLENGING BALLOT DESCRIPTION
SUPRYNOWICZ ON BACKGROUND CHECKS
PETITION AVAILABLE — DONATIONS NEEDED
The legislature adjourned its second special session earlier this week when both chambers adopted what is essentially a balanced budget. The governor has signed the budget. No gun bills were considered during either special session.
Normally I would cease publishing GOAL Post until the start of the regular legislative session next January. Given the ongoing signature gathering activity with both pro- (I-591) and anti-gun (I-594) initiatives under way, and potential developments in Congress with both S. 649 and the pending UN Arms Trade Treaty, I will publish periodic updates for the remainder of the year, probably on an “as occurs” basis.
As reported last week, Protect Our Gun Right/Yes on I-591 had its kickoff event at the WAC gun show in Puyallup two weeks ago. Thousands of signatures were gathered by show attendees and petitions handed out to volunteer signature gatherers.
Two Washington attorneys, one from Everett and one from Vancouver, have filed separate lawsuits challenging the ballot title and ballot description assigned to I-594 by the Secretary of State. Both claim the title and description given fail to correctly address the impact of the extremist anti-gun initiative. Both were filed in Thurston County and a Thurston County Superior Court judge will determine the final language of the ballot title and description.
Blank petitions for I-591 are available at http://wagunrights.com/. At that web site you can also sign up for e-mail alerts and make contributions direct to Protect Our Gun Rights. While the founding member organizations of Protect Our Gun Rights have made significant contributions to fund the program already, it is important that individual citizens and organizations or clubs also contribute to demonstrate true grassroots support for the initiative. During the debate over I-676 back in 1997, more than 90% of the money flowing to the anti-gun effort came from within a 25-mile radius of Seattle — limousine liberals in tasseled loafers as they were characterized in an editorial in the Spokane Spokesman Review. Contributions to the No on 676 effort came from all over Washington — east and west, rural and urban, a classic grassroots program.
BILL STATUS, BILL POSITION and PUBLIC HEARING SECTIONS DELETED UNTIL THE LEGISLATURE RESUMES ACTION.
GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail, send a message to “[email protected]“or to “[email protected].” Please pass GOAL Post on to anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights. Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun club’s bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s). PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at “[email protected]” or by telephone at (425) 985-4867. Unfortunately, I am unable to mail hard copy GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.
If you believe you have received this e-mail in error, please e-mail me at “[email protected]” with the words “Unsubscribe GOAL Post” in the subject line. I will remove your name immediately. Keep in mind GOAL Post is also published on several gun lists. If you received GP via a list, you must contact that list’s admin to unsubscribe.
Upcoming WAC gun show(s):
Monroe 13-14 July
Puyallup 3-4 August
“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.”
– Article 1, Section 24 – Constitution of the State of Washington
GOAL Post 2013-SPECIAL 7
Legislative Update from Olympia 28 June 2013
BUDGET AGREEMENT REACHED?
I-591 OPENER AT WAC SHOW A SUCCESS
HAVE YOU SIGNED THE PETITION YET?
ANOTHER 1984 MOMENT
The buzz in Olympia Thursday afternoon is that a deal was reached on the operating budget, thus averting a state government shutdown. Unfortunately the vote won’t be taken until sometime Friday, and I’m due to hit the road Friday noon for Orlando and the quarterly board meeting of the Florida Sport Shooting Association. Rather than trusting a hotel internet connection to send out GOAL Post, I’m hitting the “send” button before I leave home.
As with last week, there has been no action on or interest shown in gun bills during the second special session. Apparently they’re waiting to see what happens with the upcoming initiatives.
On the initiative front, the campaign kick-off for pro-gun Initiative 591, conducted at last weekend’s WAC gun show in Puyallup was a success by all measures. The initial count indicates over 2,000 signatures were gathered over the weekend.
The Protect Our Gun Rights PAC has been registered with the Public Disclosure System and in addition to signature gathering efforts, fund raising can now also begin. Unlike the fifteen-page monstrosity that is anti-gun I-594, I-591 is a clean and simple single page. All that needs to be said is said on that one page.
Further information on I-591, to include a request for blank petitions and a link to the donation page, may be found at http://protectourgunrights.net/ Six months may sound like a long time to gather signatures, but January 2014 is just around the corner.
Federal agencies strike again. The latest is the ATF putting out a Request for Proposal for a data repository system that will not only list persons of interest to that agency, it will also automatically search social networks and other data bases to link that person to other people known by the person. Part of the RFP reads the database should “obtain exact matches from partial source data searches” such as complete or partial social security numbers, vehicle serial codes, age range, phonetic name spelling, and related geographic addresses.
So much for, “If you haven’t done anything wrong, you have nothing to fear.” Are you sure all your friends and acquaintances are as squeaky clean as you?
All this to help us and make us safer. And if you can’t trust the government, in his own words President Obama said he has an issue with you. ATF is prohibited by law from creating any form of gun registry, so that should make you feel better. They wouldn’t violate that law, would they?
BILL STATUS:
All bills filed in during the regular session are available and may be acted upon. At this time there are no new gun bills, nor has there been any action on bills previously filed.
GOAL POSITION ON BILLS
No active gun bills at this time
HEARING(S) SCHEDULED
None
LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE: You may reach your Representatives and Senator by calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Toll free!!! The hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993. Also toll free!!!
1-800-562-6000 TDD 1-800-635-9993
OTHER DATA: Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative schedules and other information are available on the legislature’s web site at “www.leg.wa.gov“. Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf) format. You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from Adobe’s web site (http://www.adobe.com). You may also obtain hard copy bills, initiatives, etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573. Copies of bills may also be ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000. You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at http://www.tvw.org/ (you need “RealAudio” to do this, available free at the TVW web site).
By reading the House and Senate “bill reports” (hbr, sbr) for each bill, you can see how individual committee members voted. By reading the “roll call” for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate voted on any bill. The beauty of the web site is that ALL this information is available, on line, to any citizen.
GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail, send a message to “[email protected]“or to “[email protected].” Please pass GOAL Post on to anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights. Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun club’s bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s). PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at “[email protected]” or by telephone at (425) 985-4867. Unfortunately, I am unable to mail hard copy GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.
If you believe you have received this e-mail in error, please e-mail me at “[email protected]” with the words “Unsubscribe GOAL Post” in the subject line. I will remove your name immediately. Keep in mind GOAL Post is also published on several gun lists. If you received GP via a list, you must contact that list’s admin to unsubscribe.
Upcoming WAC gun show(s):
Monroe 13-14 July
Puyallup 3-4 August
“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.”
GOAL Post 2013-SPECIAL 6
Legislative Update from Olympia 21 June 2013
SECOND SPECIAL SESSION STARTS
DEMOCRATS THREATEN GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN
PRO-GUN COALITION FORMS
BIDEN BLUSTERS
BUNDESAMT fur VERFASSUNGSSCHUTZ (BfV)
Ten days into the second special session, same as the first. Still basically the same deadlock on the budget. The Democrat-controlled House demanding more taxes, the Majority Coalition-led Senate (23 Republicans, two Democrats) sticking with its balanced budget. Some Democrat officials (Governor Inslee?) have hinted at the possibility of a government shutdown on June 30th, the end of the current fiscal biennium. Given that emergency services should remain (my understanding), a shutdown might not be a bad thing.
No action on firearms. At least, in the legislature.
Back in 1997, when we were threatened with anti-gun Initiative 676 — I-676 — a coalition was formed to oppose the initiative, opposition that resulted in a resounding success when the initiative failed with a 71-29% vote of the people. The WeCARE (Washington Citizens Against Regulatory Excess) coalition consisted of national gun rights groups (National Rifle Association and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms) and state groups (Washington Arms Collectors, the Washington State Rifle & Pistol Association and the Gun Owners Action League of Washington).
Protect Our Gun Rights (POGR) is the new coalition formed to support pro-gun Initiative 591 to offer it as a reasonable alternative to I-594, the extremist anti-gun initiative filed by the Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility (WAGR). Current POGR members are CCRKBA, WAC and GOAL. Other organizations are expected to join.
The ballot title and description for I-594 have yet to be issued.
On Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden held a gun control dog-and-pony show in the White House while the President was in Europe schmoozing with Vladimir Putin and missing the adoring crowd in Berlin. Biden bragged about the progress made with President Obama’s “23 executive actions” on guns (most purely administrative), blustered about alleged forward motion in the Senate on the various gun bills and amendments offered two months ago (but notice Majority Leader Reid hasn’t scheduled another vote) and threatened Senators who paid more attention to their constituents than to the Obama gun agenda.
(WARNING: More Waldron editorializing, non-partisan in nature.)
In my previous life I had the privilege of working with several allied organizations and agencies with a similar mission of counterterrorism (before terrorism was cool, just individual assassinations, kidnappings, rocket attacks, bombings, etc). Among them was the BfV, the Bundesamt fur Verfassungsschutz, West Germany’s national counterintelligence organization. Bundesamt fur Verfassungsschutz translates to “Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
Think about that title for a minute: Office for the Protection of the Constitution. What a novel concept! I don’t know how faithful the BfV is to its title, but maybe some organizations in this country might want to look at the concept.
BILL STATUS: All bills filed in during the regular session are available and may be acted upon. At this time there are no new gun bills, nor has there been any action on bills previously filed.
GOAL POSITION ON BILLS: No active gun bills at this time
HEARING(S) SCHEDULED: None
LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE: You may reach your Representatives and Senator by calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Toll free!!! The hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993. Also toll free!!!
1-800-562-6000 TDD 1-800-635-9993
OTHER DATA: Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative schedules and other information are available on the legislature’s web site at “www.leg.wa.gov“. Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf) format. You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from Adobe’s web site (http://www.adobe.com). You may also obtain hard copy bills, initiatives, etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573. Copies of bills may also be ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000. You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at http://www.tvw.org/ (you need “RealAudio” to do this, available free at the TVW web site).
By reading the House and Senate “bill reports” (hbr, sbr) for each bill, you can see how individual committee members voted. By reading the “roll call” for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate voted on any bill. The beauty of the web site is that ALL this information is available, on line, to any citizen.
GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail, send a message to “[email protected]“. Please pass GOAL Post on to anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights. Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun club’s bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s). PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at “[email protected]” or by telephone at (425) 985-4867. Unfortunately, I am unable to mail hard copy GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.
If you believe you have received this e-mail in error, please e-mail me at “[email protected]” with the words “Unsubscribe GOAL Post” in the subject line. I will remove your name immediately. Keep in mind GOAL Post is also published on several gun lists. If you received GP via a list, you must contact that list’s admin to unsubscribe.
Upcoming WAC gun show(s):
· Puyallup 22-23 June
· Monroe 13-14 July
“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.”
Article 1, Section 24 – Constitution of the State of Washington
This morning Seattle Gun Rights Examiner Dave Workman wrote of the newly announced pro-rights Initiative 591 and the recently formed and growing coalition of firearms rights organizations emerging in Washington, Protect Our Gun Rights (POGR).
POGR is reaching out to individuals and organizations around the state and expects to grow swiftly in response to both the threat to civil rights presented by I-594 and in support of protections afforded civil rights by I-591. Interested parties are urged to contact temporary liaison Thomas McKiddie of the CCRKBA at (425) 454-4911. Contact information will be updated ASAP.
In a momentary aside, WAC Webmaster Ray Carter observed “POGR was formed and continues to grow in response to I-594, sponsored by a clique of Seattle anti-gun elitists, and will oppose that initiative. POGR will instead support I-591 in support of preserving civil rights and a national standard for any necessary background checks.”
