Help Washington Throw off Unconstitutional Gun Control!
Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org Wednesday, January 13, 2010
The 2010 session of the Washington State Legislature convened on January 11th. While there are several gun bills (both good and bad) already filed, one bill in particular should be of great interest to Evergreen State gun owners.
The bill is HB 2709, introduced by State Representative Matt Shea (R-4). Known as the Firearms Freedom Act, the bill is modeled after similar legislation which has been successful in other states, including Montana -- the first state to pass such a law.
The Firearms Freedom Act has a simple concept. It states that if a gun was made in Washington, and then stays in Washington, then the federal government may not regulate it under the Interstate Commerce Cause. (Because, you see, the gun was never part of any interstate commerce.)
This is important because the Commerce Clause is the "hook" that Congress has used to justify almost every single federal gun control law. But with the passage of HB 2709, a stand will be taken that guns stamped with the words "Made in Washington" are no business of the federal government.
The session is just now starting, and Rep. Shea is looking for other Representatives to cosponsor his bill. The more cosponsors the bill has, the more difficult it will be for the leadership to pretend HB 2709 doesn't exist by letting it languish in committee.
ACTION: Please urge your state Representatives to become cosponsors of HB 2709.
To identify and contact your Representatives, go to
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx and enter your address. When the results display, clicking on the names of your Reps. will reveal their contact information, to include e-mail webform links. Each Washington voter has two State Representatives.
A pre-written letter is provided below so that you can copy-and-paste it into the webforms to send e-mail messages to your Representatives.
----- Pre-written letter -----
Dear Representative:
Please cosponsor HB 2709, the Washington Firearms Freedom Act. This bill states that if a gun is manufactured in the state -- and the firearm stays in the state -- it is exempt from federal gun control laws. HB 2709 is modeled after the laws that were recently passed in Montana and Tennessee.
This is one of the most important bills that you will vote on in 2010. This is more than just a Tenth Amendment resolution -- it is a bill that has teeth!
It's time that we send a message to the U.S. Congress and tell them to start legislating within the authority given them by the Constitution. Please help continue the movement that began in Montana by becoming a cosponsor of HB 2709.
Sincerely,