Month: March 2015

GOAL Post	2015-11
Legislative Update from Olympia	20 March 2015

ESHB 1713 SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING

HOUSE JUDICIARY TO VOTE ON SSB/SB 5381 AND 5658

ATF “BACKDOWN”

ATF DIRECTOR B. TODD JONES RESIGNS

FORMER DIRNSA/CIA ON THE VULNERABILITY TO TERRORIST ATTACK

A public hearing on Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1713 has been scheduled in Senate Human Services and Mental Health at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 24 March.   Essentially, the bill adds “chemical dependency” (including alcohol) to the existing mental health commitment program.  This increases the opportunity, beyond existing law, for the state to take away an individual’s fundamental right to own a firearm.  The bill treats substance “use” essentially the same as “abuse,” with insufficient safeguards for protecting rights.

Public hearings were held on SSB 5381 and SB 5658 this week.  Both bills are scheduled for executive session (committee vote) in House Judiciary on Thursday, 26 March.  An amendment will be offered for SSB 5381 that should resolve any remaining issues with the bill.

A few readers challenged my assertion last week that ATF’s backdown on 5.56 M855 ammo was only temporary, and that — like The Terminator — “they would be back.” In effect, I was raining on the gun lobby’s victory parade.

This was ATF appearing to back down on Tuesday, 10 March:

http://www.atf.gov/press/releases/2015-03-021015-advisory-notice-those-commenting-armor-piercing-ammunition-exemption-framework.html

And this is ATF Director B. Todd Jones to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday, 12 March:

http://bearingarms.com/atf-chief-suggests-5-56-ammo-threat-law-enforcement/

And note that he wants to work with Congress to “fix” the 1986 law.  He clearly stated he thought ALL 5.56mm ammunition posed a threat to police officers.  If you think Jones’ “fix” is going to make it better for gun owners, promises for transparency and taking into account public input notwithstanding, well… you decide .

While I still question the motives of some in the ATF bureaucracy, you won’t have to worry about ATF Director B. Todd Jones much longer.  In a surprise announcement this morning (his departure had been rumored for a week or longer), Jones announced he’s resigning from the ATF directorship effective 31 March.  The official line is he is resigning “to pursue other opportunities in the private sector.”  Rumor has it he will become a senior counsel — possible general counsel — for the NFL.  Stand by for political manipulation within the NFL?  I guess the jump from FFLs to NFL isn’t that big a leap.

At this time Deputy Director Thomas Brandon will take the helm.  Brandon was the ATF’s choice to be clean-up (cover-up?) man heading the Phoenix Field Division following the Fast & Furious debacle.  We — and Congress — are still awaiting the final report on that one.

On a separate topic, retired USAF General Michael Hayden, former director of the National Security Agency and the CIA, in comments made after the Tunisia museum attack earlier this week, warned that this kind of low level attack could happen at any soft target in the U.S.  This comes on the heels of FBI Director James Comey warning there are active ISIS or ISIS-sympathizer cells active in all 50 states — and the White House claiming we are at our safest since 9/11/01.

This is the one kind of attack where the armed citizen can make a critical difference — the immediate responder that is already on the scene, not minutes away as are police.  Are YOU carrying today?  Every day?

BILL STATUS:

ESHB 1713 OPPOSE	Mental health/guns	Cody (D-34)	S. HumServ
SSB 5381 NEUTRAL	Return of firearms held by law enforcement	Billig (D-3)	H. Judiciary
SB 5658 NEUTRAL	Reporting of mental health commitment	Dansel (R-7)	H. Judiciary

* indicates change in status this week

ESHB = Engrossed Substitute House Bill, SHB/SSB = Substitute Bill (bill amended in committee), HB = House Bill, SB = Senate Bill, H. Aprop = House Appropriations, H. Jud. = House Judiciary, S. L&J = Senate Law & Justice, S. HumSer = Senate Human Services, Mental Health & Housing

HEARINGS SCHEDULED:

ESHB 1713 23 Mar

S. HumSer 1000

Senate Hearing Room “?”

John A. Cherberg Office Bldg

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          21-22 March

Monroe            4 April (Saturday only)

“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

Copyright 2015 Gun Owners Action League of WA

GOAL Post	2015-10
Legislative Update from Olympia	13 March 2015

CHAMBER CUT-OFF

THREE BILLS STILL ALIVE

PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED

ON/OFF/ON AGAIN ATF AMMO BAN

The original chamber cut-off passed Wednesday evening.  Eight bills died at that point (see “BILL STATUS” below).

Three bills remain under consideration for the remainder of the session, ESHB 1731 (mental health/guns), SSB 5381 (return of firearms) and SB 5658 (reporting mental health commitment).  The only bill of concern remains ESHB 1713.  As originally introduced, it would have treated any person deemed to have a chemical dependency (alcohol!) the same as a mental health involuntary commitment, with loss of firearm rights.  The bill was amended in the House Judiciary committee(SHB 1713), and finally on the House floor (ESHB 1713).  The current version is better than the original, but is still unacceptable, as it incorporates federal disqualifiers (firearms prohibitions) into state law.

Two public hearings on bills are scheduled in the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday (SSB 5381) and Wednesday (SSB 5658).

In a fine example of a federal kubuki dance, early in the week the ATF announced it was backing down on its reclassification of M855 ammunition as armor piercing — and thus adding it to the “ban” list.  Then on Thursday, they announced they were reviewing ALL 5.56x45mm surplus ammunition because it posed a potential danger to police officers (allegedly because of the increasing number of AR-based handguns on the market).  But not commercial .223 ammunition.  Exactly what is the difference between 5.56mm M193 and commercial .223 55gr FMJ ammunition?  Both use the same projectile, the original 55 grain FMJ bullet introduced with the M16 family of firearms back around 1963.  Law enforcement organizations have publicly stated that 5.56 military surplus ammunition does NOT pose a unique threat to officers… but what do they know?

Apparently what happened is the ATF received overwhelming opposition to its M855 ban, from industry, from law enforcement, from the public and from Congress, so they backed down.  But someone forgot to give the memo to the White House, and President Obama still wants a 5.56mm ammo ban.  So the games continue.  Meanwhile we’re looking at another shortage of 5.56mm ammunition as gun owners clean dealers’ shelves.  Again.  (Everyone DOES keep 500 rounds on hand for all the guns you own, yes?)

BILL STATUS:

Bill #	Subject	Prime sponsor	Status
*ESHB 1713 OPPOSE	Mental health/guns	Cody (D-34)	Passed House, S. HumServ
*HB 1731 OPPOSE	Return of firearms held by law enforcement	Ormsby (D-3)	Died
*SB 5036 NEUTRAL	Penalizes criminal misuse of body armor	O’Ban (R-28)	Died
*SSB 5381 NEUTRAL	Return of firearms held by law enforcement	Billig (D-3)	H. Judiciary
SB 5500 SUPPORT	Allows retired LEOs to carry on school grounds	Roach (R-31)	Died
SB 5539 SUPPORT	Exempts LEO’s from three day waiting period	Roach (R-31)	Died
SSB 5579 SUPPORT	Exempts licensed security guards from b/g checks	Dammeier (R-25)	Died
SB 5615 SUPPORT	Exempts military members from b/g checks	Benton (R-17)	Died
*SB 5658 NEUTRAL	Reporting of mental health commitment	Dansel (R-7)	H. Judiciary
SB 5831 Support	Restoration of firearm rights	Honeyford (R-15)	Died
SSB 6015 Support	NRA License Plate	Roach (R-31)	Died

* indicates change in status this week

ESHB = Engrossed Substitute House Bill, SHB/SSB = Substitute Bill (bill amended in committee), HB = House Bill, SB = Senate Bill, H. Aprop = House Appropriations, H. Jud. = House Judiciary, S. L&J = Senate Law & Justice, S. HumSer = Senate Human Services, Mental Health & Housing

HEARINGS SCHEDULED:

SSB 5381 17 Mar 2015	H. Judiciary 1030	House Hearing Room A	John L. O’Brien Office Bldg
SB 5658 18 Mar 2015	H. Judiciary 0830	House Hearing Room A	John L. O’Brien Office Bldg

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         21-22 March

Monroe             4 April (Saturday only)

“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

Copyright 2015 Gun Owners Action League of WA

 

GOAL Post	2015-9
Legislative Update from Olympia	06 March 2015

FREEDOM AGENDA

BILLS LIVE, DIE

FIVE DAYS UNTIL CHAMBER CUT-OFF

PROCESS STARTS OVER NEXT THURSDAY

I normally don’t cover non-firearm-related bills, but I’ll mention these two just once.  Two bills, part of the “Freedom Agenda” push by conservative legislators, have passed out of the House.  HB 1440, by Rep. David Taylor (R-15) prohibits the use of various cellphone collection technologies without authorization by a warrant, or consent by the cellphone user.  Among these is the so-called “Stingray” device, a cellphone signal interceptor.  HB 1639, also by Rep. Taylor, essentially does the same for unattended aerial vehicles (drones).  No warrant, no lookee — or at least no entry as evidence into court.   1639 also creates a “cause of action” whereby a citizen may sue if he/she feels his/her rights have been violated.  Both reaffirm the need for a warrant before this emerging technology is used in collecting information/evidence from citizens.

The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that the protections of the Bill of Rights extend to new technologies (as Justice Scalia did in his majority opinion in the Heller (2008) case, noting that the Second Amendment protects new firearm technologies such as “assault weapons.), but it’s nice to see the state legislature reaffirm this principle.  On the down side, they allow exceptions for “emergencies.”  The extent to which this will be abused remains to be seen.  I’m NOT adding either bill to the BILL STATUS column.

All the action is still on the House and Senate floors, with bills being voted up or down.  An asterisk in front of the bill number indicates action taken this week, and the “Status” at the end of that line indicates where the bill currently sits.  Opposite chamber assignments are as noted.  HB 1731 has been moved to the House “X”-file, typically the holding pattern until next session — an unusual move in mid-session.  The watered down Senate companion bill, SB 5381 passed the Senate and now sits in House Judiciary for the second half of the session.

There are five days left until the chamber cut-off   — Wednesday, 11 March at 5 p.m., the day all bills must pass their original chamber and move to the other side.  Despite marathon floor sessions, some bills simply won’t make the deadline.  To paraphrase Matthew 22:14, many bills are filed but few are passed.  (Even those few are probably too many.)

Next Thursday, 12 March, the whole process starts over again, with House bills being heard in the Senate and Senate bills in the House.  They have to pass a policy committee, possibly a fiscal committee, then move on for a floor vote in the entire House or Senate.  Bills that pass without amendment go direct to Governor Inslee for his action — sign, veto, partial veto, or allow to become law without his signature.  Bills that are amended on the opposite side must be returned to the originating chamber for approval or a conference committee.

BILL STATUS:

Bill #	Subject	Prime sponsor	Status
*SHB 1713 OPPOSE	Mental health/guns	Cody (D-34)	H. Rules
*HB 1731 OPPOSE	Return of firearms held by law enforcement	Ormsby (D-3)	“X”-file
SB 5036 NEUTRAL	Penalizes criminal misuse of body armor	O’Ban (R-28)	S. Rules
*SSB 5381 NEUTRAL	Return of firearms held by law enforcement	Billig (D-3)	H. Judiciary
SB 5500 SUPPORT	Allows retired LEOs to carry on school grounds	Roach (R-31)	S. Rules
SB 5539 SUPPORT	Exempts LEO’s from three day waiting period	Roach (R-31)	S. Rules
SSB 5579 SUPPORT	Exempts licensed security guards from b/g checks	Dammeier (R-25)	S. Rules
SB 5615 SUPPORT	Exempts military members from b/g checks	Benton (R-17)	S. Rules
*SB 5658 NEUTRAL	Reporting of mental health commitment	Dansel (R-7)	Passed Senate
SB 5831 Support	Restoration of firearm rights	Honeyford (R-15)	S. Rules
SSB 6015 Support	NRA License Plate	Roach (R-31)	S. Rules

* indicates change in status this week

SHB/SSB = Substitute Bill (bill amended in committee), HB = House Bill, SB = Senate Bill, H. Aprop = House Appropriations, H. Jud. = House Judiciary, S. L&J = Senate Law & Justice, H. Ag/NatRes = House Agriculture & Natural Resources, S. NatRes/Parks = Senate Natural Resources & Parks, S. Hum Ser = Senate Human Services, Mental Health & Housing, H. GenGov = House General Government & Info Technology, S. Trans = Senate Transportation

HEARINGS 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 21-22 March

Monroe 4 April (Saturday only)

“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

Copyright 2015 Gun Owners Action League of WA