IT'S BACK!!!!!!! Thurston County No Shooting Zone Ordinance

[pianoman9701]

Dave, has the time changed again to 1PM? It was three, then two.

[KillBilly]

If they pass this we should try for legislation to repeal this and prevent it from happening again.

Dale we have attorneys poised and ready to pounce. there will be a lawsuit if it passes. However we need to promote several pieces of legislation for the next session.

We need to Get bob Morton on point for legislation to unseat the current wildlife commissioners that are not confirmed and include a caveat that any/all gubernatorial appointments must be confirmed the same year or not be seated.

We need to get behind Dan Swecker and work on legislation to change the State Constitution to clearly state that Hunting is a right, not a privelege.

There are more and we need to work it hard.
 

[huntrights]

Dave, has the time changed again to 1PM? It was three, then two.

The Commissioner's Master Schedule still shows 2:00 PM.  It is important to keep an eye on this because they have been known to change the schedule.

Here is a link to their Master Schedule:

http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/bocc/docs/Master%20Schedule.pdf

[Special T]

So how did it turn out? Has our voices made a difference?



Here is a letter i recieved from Sen Dan Swecker

Mr. T,
 
Thank you for writing to me about the Thurston County No-Shooting Ordinance. I have been following the development of this ordinance and I agree with you. The limits placed on citizens by the new rules would be onerous and, in my opinion, over-reaching. I have written a letter to the Commissioners to express my concerns, and I have included the text here. The letter was also signed by Senator Becker and Representatives Finn, McCune, and Wilcox.

Thank you for taking the time to let me know your thoughts on this matter. If there is anything else I can do for you, please do not hesitate to call my office.

Sincerely,
Senator Dan Swecker
20th Legislative District

[bobcat]

You know what's good about Dan Swecker? He's a duck hunter. Well- at least his son does because I hunted ducks once with him and my neighbor.

[bearpaw]

I heard lots of hunters turned out and the commissioners tabled it, probably hoping not as many hunters will be there next time.

[bearpaw]

There's a news video on this page:

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Hunters-fighting-to-stop-Thurston-Co-gun-ordinance-146372925.html?tab=video&c=y


Hunters fighting to stop Thurston Co. gun ordinance
By Bryan Johnson Published: Apr 5, 2012 at 6:39 PM PDT

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Hunters in Olympia say a proposed gun control ordinance is illegal and dangerous, and they're fighting to keep it off the books.

The Thurston County Commission is mulling a proposed ordinance that would make it illegal to fire a gun on county shores.

"Both the residents and the commissioners are persuaded that discharge of firearms in this area is no longer safe because of population density," said Commissioner Karen Valenzuela.

That plan isn't sitting well with local hunters, who say the waters around Olympia are prime locations for duck hunting. The hunters showed up in droves to the commission's Thursday meeting to make their opinions known.

"It's completely unwarranted. There's never been a situation in this county where anyone has been shot with a shotgun, and that's where this started out for us," said Jim Cortines of the Washington Waterfowl Association.

While nobody has been injured, Valenzuela said there's been some close calls.

"We had reports from residents of bullets whizzing by and actually embedded in corners of buildings, along the shorelines of Eld Inlet," she said.

If you know anything about duck hunting, you know that hunters operate near the shoreline, aiming at birds in flight. The new ordinance would call for hunters to be 300 yards in the water before they could fire a gun.

Opponents of the ordinance say the commission's plan would actually put more people in danger.

"If they are near the water, they are shooting out towards the water, they are not shooting toward the shore," said Glen Morgan of the Freedom Foundation. "This ordinance makes them be out in the water and shoot toward shore. By design, it's actually the least safe option the county could have taken."

Valenzuela has heard that argument, but she says there's little chance that a shotgun blast from 300 yards out into the water would reach the shore with enough velocity to cause an injury.

County officials didn't take testimony at Thursday's meeting, but they heard arguments and will make their next move in two weeks.

[bearpaw]

Thurston shooting-zone briefing draws large, passionate crowd

CHELSEA KROTZER | Staff writer • Published April 06, 2012

Thurston County commissioners tabled any decisions about a controversial proposed controlled-shooting zone ordinance for two weeks during a Thursday briefing attended by more than 100 people.

County staffers brought the commission up to speed on an ordinance that would add to the county’s 38 current zones in which shooting is either banned or restricted.
 
Residents opposed to the ordinance lined the street and sidewalks leading to the county courthouse with red and white signs stating, “Stop Thurston County Illegal No Shooting Ordinance.”
 
More filled about 40 available seats in the county meeting room, with others overflowing into the lobby and along the stairs. The meeting did not include a public-comment period.

Cliff Moore, director of resource stewardship, said the county originally had 43 no- or controlled-shooting zones, but five were overwritten or annexed into neighboring cities.
 
The county’s controlled-shooting zones last were updated in 1995, Moore said.

The issue was brought to the commissioners in 2009 by waterfront community residents concerned about shooting near their homes.
 
After several public meetings, the county appointed a small work group of staffers and citizens to work on a new ordinance. The group met twice in 2011.
 
“There has been a fair amount of public comment predominately opposed to the ordinance,” Moore said.
 
Senior planner Robert Smith said the county received 1,800 written and emailed public comments.
 
Moore said the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and Thurston County Sheriff’s Office both question the need for the proposed ordinance.
 
In a letter to the county, Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Philip Anderson said there have been “no safety incidents related to waterfowl hunting on Thurston County saltwater areas.”
 
The ordinance would add controlled-shooting zones in the urban-growth areas of Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater and Grand Mound, portions of Eld and Henderson inlets and some residential areas zoned for one or two dwellings per acre.

The ordinance would also prohibit shooting within 300 yards of the ordinary high-water line along Puget Sound, limiting areas for waterfowl hunters.
 
“We are not aware of any safety concerns on the properties that need to be addressed by a Thurston County shooting ordinance,” Anderson’s letter said. “Moreover, the ordinance closes other areas of South Sound that have large adjacent public ownership and are currently safely hunted for sea ducks.”
 
Moore said the work group initially considered 300 feet for marine shorelines.

“Information provided to staff suggests that wasn’t sufficient, so we extended it to 300 yards (900 feet),” Moore said.

That information was from an article claiming a shot from a shotgun would be non-lethal, but could cause damage between 250 and 600 yards.

Michael Bartoldo of the Nisqually Chapter of Ducks Unlimited said that having the 300-yard control zone would eliminate opportunities for sea fowl hunters.

He said the best way for hunters to reach them is while they feed in the shallow waters within that 300-yard zone.

“Taking public waterways to 300 yards is setting a bad precedent for the county and the state,” Bartoldo said.

John O’Neill of Lacey said the ordinance would eliminate most of his usual hunting grounds.

“This is a thinly veiled attempt to stop hunting in Thurston County,” O’Neill said. “The theory of 300-yard exclusive zone is not based on fact. This has been an underhanded process from the very beginning.”
 
Commissioner Cathy Wolfe gave a deadline of two weeks to make a decision.
 
The commissioners will continue with the ordinance process and hold a public meeting, send the ordinance back to staffers for additional review or take no action.
 
If the commission chooses to move ahead with the ordinance, it will have to schedule a public hearing during a regular commission meeting.
 
Chelsea Krotzer: 360-754-5476
ckrotzer@theolympian.com

Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/2012/04/05/2059052/thurston-shooting-zone-briefing.html#storylink=cpy

[pianoman9701]

Don't you just love it when ignorant people talk about shotguns and bullet holes thinking the two are related? She's such an ignorant bag.

[bobcat]

Don't you just love it when ignorant people talk about shotguns and bullet holes thinking the two are related? She's such an ignorant bag.

Yeah I thought the same thing when I read that.   

[bucklucky]

Watch this you tube video, I think it pretty much sums up what its about. Its more than just duck hunters on the water. Its shooting on your own property, hunting private lands etc. Its all guns not just shot guns.

[huntrights]

The proposed Thurston County No Shooting Zone Ordinance has not gone away. 

Your help is needed to continue getting the word out to more people.  All hunters, recreational shooters, and freedom loving people need to be informed about this travesty, and take action to oppose it.

Here are several links, some of which have been posted before, but this brings many of them together in one place.

• Link to article – Ken Schram is with us: http://www.komonews.com/opinion/kenschram/Ken-Schram-Im-with-the-duck-hunters-on-this-problem-146444095.html#idc-cover

• Link to a video regarding Valenzuela’s ridiculous comments: http://www.myfreedomfoundation.com/index.php/stop_thurston_county/view/do_our_commissioners_understand_anything_about_the_ordinances_they_approve

• Link to a KOMO video in which Valenzuela make her comments that exemplifies her ignorance regarding the subject: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Hunters-fighting-to-stop-Thurston-Co-gun-ordinance-146372925.html?tab=video&c=y

• Link to a video regarding the TCNSZO is a bad idea: http://www.myfreedomfoundation.com/index.php/site/view/thurston_countys_no_shooting_ordinance_a_bad_idea

• Link to video showing petition signing at Cabela’s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNbS0KH9Eds

• Link to Sheriff Snaza video – no issue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c03HI2E82cY&feature=relmfu

• Link to video – public meeting last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibI0jR7AYhk&feature=related

• Link to video – the workgroup – how to get involved to stop this ordinance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOVS_KR2UD4&feature=relmfu

• Link to video – citizens testifying against the ordinance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkgNC4bCGKA&feature=relmfu

• Link to video – Humor – The beginning of the ordinance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mdj0QAyJpw

• Link to video – Humor – change of name to Controlled Shooting Zone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imLOCeEoOOs

[Special T]

If Schram agrees on a firearms issue you KNOW it ridiculous!

[bobcat]

I just read on the Refuge Forum that the no shooting ordinance is "dead in the water." 


http://www.refugeforums.com/refuge/showthread.php?t=899159

[pianoman9701]

Yes, a majority of the commissioners have decided to tell their aids to stop putting any effort into it and that because they finally acknowledge the testimony of both the DFW and their own sheriff, there are apparently no safety issues regarding waterfowl hunters. Imagine that!