Legislation Introduced to Attack Gun Shows in Washington

[Kain]

http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=5296

 
Legislation Introduced to Attack Gun Shows in Washington
 
Thursday, January 14, 2010
 
Please Stand-Up and Make Your Voices Heard!

State Representatives Brendan Williams (D-22) and Maralyn Chase (D-32) have introduced House Bill 2477, a bill that seeks to abolish the private transfer of firearms, even between family and friends, at gun shows.

Simply put, HB2477 would hold law-abiding gun owners liable for the acts of criminals.  Under this bill, if a firearm is privately transferred at a gun show to a person who is ineligible, the seller can be held liable for injury or death caused by the criminal use of that firearm.

Please contact both of your State Representatives and your State Senator TODAY at 800-562-6000 and politely urge them to oppose HB2477.  More contact information for your legislators can be found here.

[andrew_12gauge]

what if it is privately transferred outside of a gun show? i just dont see how this would be enforcable if it specifically states privately transferred at a gun show, but if all private sales are targeted then this is scary stuff

[Shootmoore]

Boy there busy this year.  Sending out another round of letters, still have not heard back from them on the last 5 I have sent.

How about they make it so if a criminal is released on a reduced bond (clemens) with a  felony record and commits a violent act that the judge is held responsible.

How about if everytime someone is killed or injured in a government mandated "gun free zone" by a firearm that the legislators who mandated the "Gun Free Zone" are held liable.

I think that is going into this round of letters.


Shootmoore

[ADAMS]

Thanks.  Just wrote mine.

[shoot-em-dead]

How are they going to know when a sale took place- I sold 15 guns in the last year and most of them were purchased in my name. I know that some of them were bought just to sell so who knows who has them.

[ICEMAN]

Just saw that Kain, thanks for posting.

This legislation is being introduced by my own State Representative from my district; Brendan Williams. 


The proposed law reads:

1 AN ACT Relating to liability for the criminal use of firearms sold
2 at gun shows or events; and adding a new section to chapter 9.41 RCW.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
4 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 9.41 RCW
5 to read as follows:
6 (1) A person who sells, delivers, or otherwise transfers, at a gun
7 show or event, a firearm to any person whom a criminal background check
8 in accordance with RCW 9.41.090 and 18 U.S.C. Sec. 921 et seq. would
9 have revealed was ineligible under RCW 9.41.040 to possess a firearm,
10 is strictly liable for damages for the injury or death of another
11 person that results from the criminal use of that firearm by any
12 person.
13 (2) For the purposes of this section, "gun show or event" means a
14 place or event, a gun trade show, gun collectors' show, flea market, or
15 auction, other than a permanent retail store, at which three or more
16 individuals assemble to display, sell, lease, or transfer new or used
17 firearms or firearm components to the public and that is not exempt
18 from collecting sales tax under RCW 82.08.0251. "Gun show or event"
19 includes the entire premises provided for the gun show or event,
p. 1 HB 2477
1 including parking areas near the gun show or event that the sponsor
2 knows or should reasonably know will be used for parking for the gun
3 show or event.
--- END ---
HB 2477
 

Find your own legislator here and write to them, it is very easy;

DO IT NOW!
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx

[croix]

Sent my three emails out. Didn't take long and the link provided by Iceman made it simple to get all of my state legislators at one shot. Thanks Ice and thanks to Kain for bringing this one to my attention.

[ICEMAN]

Good job Croix! Thanks for taking the time.

I hate having to try to keep up on this crap, but I want my kids to have the same opportunity that I have had. Screw the damned politicians!

[croix]

Writing to my three democrat legislators felt a little like p*ssing into the wind, but needed to be done. I thought that I was going to have to write to each of them individually (still not that difficult with copy and paste) but that web site had a radio button that asked if I wanted to send copies to all three. One email - three useless politicians. Cool.

[Holg3107]

I could be wrong here but i thought they passed a bill a few years ago that required all firearms sold at sanctioned gun shows to be registered to the new owner? Doesn't that require a background check? I could be wrong, either way this is just another unenforcable piece of legislation that will be extremely difficult to moniter. Unless the gun you are selling is registered to you LOL, this seems to be a bit of a stretch.

[Savage3006]

When it rains, it pours!

[andrew_12gauge]

I could be wrong here but i thought they passed a bill a few years ago that required all firearms sold at sanctioned gun shows to be registered to the new owner? Doesn't that require a background check? I could be wrong, either way this is just another unenforcable piece of legislation that will be extremely difficult to moniter. Unless the gun you are selling is registered to you LOL, this seems to be a bit of a stretch.

even if the gun is registered to you how will they know if you sold it at a gun show or just put an ad out in the classifieds and sold it that way, im guessing that pope could come on here and tell you that any lawyer worth his salt could get you outta this one if they tried to enforce it

[Crunchy]

Although I dont necessarily agree with some of the liablity aspects of this new legislation, the principle of trying to keep people from selling guns to felons isnt a bad one.  I think they are trying to prevent just anyone buying a gun at a gun show that couldnt buy one at a gun shop.

[Shootmoore]

Although I dont necessarily agree with some of the liablity aspects of this new legislation, the principle of trying to keep people from selling guns to felons isnt a bad one.  I think they are trying to prevent just anyone buying a gun at a gun show that couldnt buy one at a gun shop.

I agree to a point Crunchy.  The problem here is the responsibility is once again placed on someone other than the person commiting the crime.  It is already illegal for the felon to purchase and own the firearm whether he makes the purchase at the gun show or not.

This falls under the same ideology of the lawsuits against gun manufacturers.  Instead of focusing on the person who uses the firearm illegaly they are targeting a 3rd party for the misuse of an object.  Enforcement and or tools to assist in the enforcement of the already violated laws would be a better way to go in my opinion

Shootmoore

[Crunchy]

I see your point, but why not enforce same rules at a gun show as they do anywhere else you can buy a gun?