Please Pass This Information to Anyone You Know In Washington

[ltorlo64]

I just sent this to my friends in Washington State. Feel free to send this to anyone you know there as well.

As we start voting in Washington State I wanted to remind my friends about two initiatives on the ballot, one that is trying to make felons of law abiding citizens and one that is trying to protect our freedoms.

I-591, named “The Washington Gun Rights Measure”, should be supported and voted yes on. It will prevent Washington State from enacting any law that will arbitrarily allow the Washington State government from searching for and seizing, without due process, legally owned firearms. It would also prevent invoking extra background checks on citizens until a uniform national standard is adopted.

I-594 is deceptively named “Washington Universal Background Checks for Gun Purchases” and should not be supported, vote no on this one. The initiative changes the definition of transfer so that only the person who owns a firearm may use it. For another person to use that firearm, except in very limited circumstances, requires them to go through a background check and have the firearm transferred to them. When they are done another background check must be done to return the gun to the owner. If you do not follow these rules, the first offence is a misdemeanor and the second is a felony. The felony allows the government to confiscate your firearms, which is the real goal of this law.

Based on the sad and tragic shooting in Marysville this last week it is also necessary to address this. I would rather not but I have already read some editorials saying that this shooting shows the need to pass I-594. It is important to remember that there is nothing in I-594 that would have prevented that terrible shooting. Don’t let misinformation be used to talk you into voting away your freedom.

[T2K]

The shooting at the school last week, I saw a .40 cal pistol was used.

Where did the kid get it? Stolen from a family member?

[ltorlo64]

The shooting at the school last week, I saw a .40 cal pistol was used.

Where did the kid get it? Stolen from a family member?

I haven't heard where he got it yet. It is a sure thing he did not get it legally.

I read a discussion after an editorial discussing I-594, in fact it linked in a post started by Tank Monkey. In the discussion this guy stated we needed to pass I-594 to keep 14 year olds from legally passing a background check and being able to buy a firearm. Idiot.

[T2K]

Totally separate topic, but I've had so many discussions about gun laws in the US with people who are intelligent and educated and successful in their careers...and know NEARLY NOTHING about our present system. Worse, what they do "know" is completely wrong (ex "you can just buy guns off the internet!").

I wonder if the lawful owner of the pistol will be charged? We'll see. Probably not since he will likely be a Native American (named Fryberg?).

[ltorlo64]

I think it will depend on how the gun was stored. There is a trend over the last few years that when a child is involved in a shooting incident to hold the parent or owner of the gun criminally liable, depending on how the gun used was stored. In Washington in the last few years 2 adults, in one case a parent and in the other a boyfriend of the mother, have been charged with (and in at least one case found guilty) of assault with a deadly weapon for failure to properly secure a firearm that was used by a child to shoot someone. Yeah, it will be interesting to see what happens.