Below is the latest from Joe Waldron, the legislative watchdog at Washington Arms Collectors (WAC). When the WA legislature is in session, he sends a weekly email reporting on current firearms related bills being considered in Olympia. House Bill 1588 is advertised as a background check bill. In fact it is a gun registration bill. As we all know from past history, registration is ALWAYS followed by confiscation (England, Canada, Australia, etc.), and eventually by genocide. (In 1933 the Germans didn't think it could happen. By 1945, Hitler had murdered millions of his own citizens. Stalin and Mao did the same thing.) HB 1588 is scheduled for a hearing on Wed, 13 Feb @8 A.M., along with other anti gun bills.
If you care about your right to keep and bear arms (or that of your child or grandchild), you should be on his email list. If you want to subscribe to GOAL Post by e-mail, send a message to "jwaldron@halcyon.com". On the subject line enter "subscribe".
A few years ago I attended a hearing on a gun confiscation bill. Thanks to Joe there was a huge crowd in attendance. 95% of them were opposed to the bill. The bill never came up for a floor vote because it died in committee. All politicians are keenly aware of numbers. When they realize that they might be voted out of office because of their vote on a particular bill, they pay attention. You do NOT have to give public testimony. Just go to the building where the hearing is being held. Tables just outside or inside the hearing room have sign-up sheets available. You can sign on and state your position on a bill ("pro" = support, "con" = oppose). It takes only a couple of minutes. Then you can visit your state senator and representatives and let them know that you are paying attention to their vote. If they are not in the office, you can leave a message with their secretary. All of them understand that if you are serious enough about a bill to drive all the way to Olympia, they would be wise to pay attention. You can also tell them your opinion of anything else that interests you, such as tax increases.
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GOAL Post 2013-4
Legislative Update from Olympia 8 February 2013
SEVERAL NEW BILLS FILED
TWO PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED
TURNOUT NEEDED IN OLYMPIA
At least eight new gun bills were filed, good and bad. HB 1676 by Rep. Ruth Kagi (D-32) is another mandatory safe storage bill similar to the 1997 "Whitney Graves" bill. HB 1703 by Rep. Laurie Jinkins (D-27) is interesting: it imposes a $25 tax per transfer of any firearm, as well as a tax of one cent per round of ammunition sold... to fund a state-developed firearms safety training program. Between this and HB 1588/SB 5625, that's a $45 tax on EVERY firearm transferred. HB 1729 by Rep. Judy Warnick (R-13) adds penalties to street gang members found with firearms, and HB 1788 by Rep. Liz Pike (R-18) would allow qualified school personnel to carry on campus.
On the Senate side, SB 5604 by Sen. Brian Hatfield (D-19) would authorize an NRA license plate. (I'll just say it once: I believe we'd be better off with a generic "Second Amendment" plate -- it's harder to criticize the Bill of Rights.) SBs 5625 and 5711 by Sen. Adam Kline (D-37) are similar to HB 1588 -- they require ALL firearm transfers to be conducted by an FFL or by law enforcement, with resulting record keeping (de facto registration) AND a $20 transfer fee (tax). SB 5635, also by Sen. Kline, makes it harder for firearm rights to be restored.
Two public hearings are scheduled for next week. On Wednesday, 13 February at 8:00 a.m., the House Judiciary will take public testimony on HBs 1147, 1588, 1612 and 1676. On Friday, 15 February also at 8:00 a.m., the Senate Law & Justice Committee will conduct a public hearing on SB 5479.
If at all possible, PLEASE try to attend the House Judiciary hearing on Wednesday. It's important that we get as large a pro-gun turn-out as possible to demonstrate our opposition to HBs 1588 and 1676. HB 1588, especially, as it creates a de facto gun registration system in Washington. There are ways to conduct background checks that DO NOT retain data on the transfer. If they want background checks, run a pure background check bill. If they want registration, call it that and let's debate it.
If you can't attend the hearing, please write to your Representatives AND to the members of the Judiciary Committee and go on record with your opposition to these two bills. Links to legislator contact information:
http://www.leg.wa.gov/Senate/Senators/http://www.leg.wa.gov/House/Representatives/House Judiciary Committee:
Rep, Jaime Pedersen (D-43) jaime.pedersen@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Drew Hansen (D-23) drew.hansen@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Jay Rodne (R-5) jay.rodne@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Steve O'Ban (R-28) steve.oban@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Roger Goodman (D-45) roger.goodman@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Mike Hope (R-44) mike.hope@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Laurie Jinkins (D-27) laurie.jinkins@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Steve Kirby (D-29) steve.kirby@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Brad Klippert (R-8) brad.klippert@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Terry Nealey (R-16) terry.nealey@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Tina Orwall (D-33) tina.orwall@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Mary Helen Roberts (D-21) maryhelen.roberts@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Matt Shea (R-4) matt.shea@leg.wa.gov
In the "GOAL Position" vbseveral bills are marked "CONCERNS." As mentioned previously, the concerns are based on how the bill might be improperly enforced and ensnare an individual that the bill was never intended to trap. There is a lot of judicial and prosecutorial flexibility in the system, theoretically enough to preclude this from happening. That's in a perfect world. We don't live in a perfect world.
BILL STATUS:
House Bill numbering begins with 1000; Senate Bills with 5000. The following bills have been filed so far in the 2013-14 biennium:
Bill # Subject Sponsor Status
HB 1096 Juvi illegal firearm possession Hurst (D-31) H. Jud
HB 1147 1st degree juvi unlawful possess. Goodman (D-45) H. Jud
HB 1184 Range protection Takko (D-19) H. Jud
HB 1318 CPL renewal notice Taylor (-15) H. Jud
HB 1371 WA Firearms Freedom Act Taylor (R-15) H. Jud
HB 1383 Stalking protection orders Goodman (D-45) H. Jud
HB 1561 Short barreled rifles Blake (D-19) H. Jud
HB 1588 Background checks Pedersen (D-43) H. Jud
HB 1612 Firearm offender registry Hope (R-44) H. Jud
HB 1676 Mandatory safe storage Kagi (D-32) H. Jud
HB 1703 Gun "safety" training and tax Jinkins (D-27) H. Jud
HB 1729 Street gangs Warnick (R-13) H. Jud
HB 1788 Firearms/school employees Pike (R-18) H. Jud
SB 5282 DSHS/WSP info exchange Carrell (R-28) S. HS&C
SB 5376 Juvi illegal firearm possession Kline (D-37) S. HS&C
SB 5452 Stalking protection orders Conway (D- S. HS&C
SB 5478 Firearms/mental health court Keiser (D-33) S. L&J
SB 5479 Safekeeping of firearms Keiser (D-33) S. L&J
SB 5485 Mandatory safe storage Kline (D-37) S. L&J
SB 5604 NRA license plates Hatfield (D-19) S. Trans
HB 5625 Background checks Kline (D-37) S. L&J
SB 5635 Restoration of firearm rights Kline (D-37) S. L&J
SB 5711 Background checks Kline (D-37) S. L&J
Key to abbreviations: SB = Senate Bill, HB = House Bill, Jud = Judiciary, L&J = Law & Justice, HS&C = Human Services & Corrections, Trans = Transportation
GOAL POSITION ON BILLS
HB 1096 CONCERNS
HB 1147 CONCERNS
HB 1184 SUPPORT
HB 1318 SUPPORT
HB 1371 SUPPORT
HB 1383 CONCERNS
HB 1561 SUPPORT
HB 1588 OPPOSE
HB 1612 CONCERNS
HB 1676 OPPOSE
HB 1703 OPPOSE
HB 1729 SUPPORT
HB 1788 SUPPORT
SB 5282 SUPPORT
SB 5376 CONCERNS
SB 5452 CONCERNS
SB 5478 CONCERNS
SB 5479 OPPOSE
SB 5485 OPPOSE
SB 5604 NEUTRAL
SB 5625 OPPOSE
SB 5635 OPPOSE ?
SB 5711 OPPOSE
HEARING(S) SCHEDULED
13 Feb HBs 1147, 1676, 1588, 1612 House Judiciary Committee
8:00 a.m. House Hearing Room "A" John L. O'Brien House Office Building
15 Feb SB 5479 Senate Law & Justice Committee
8:00 a..m. Senate Hearing Room "1" John A. Cherberg Senate Office Building
7 Feb HB 1383 House Judiciary Committee
1:30 p.m. House Hearing Room "A" John L. O'Brien House Office Building
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 athttp://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 "jwaldron@halcyon.com". 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 "jwaldron@halcyon.com" 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
