Assault Weapons Ban In Washington State

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Scattergun Bob

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For you folks in Washington State as of today Senator Kline introduced Senate Bill 6396. AN ACT RELATING TO BANNING THE SALE OF ASSAULT WEAPONS this bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary.

I am very careful not to run around saying "the sky is falling" unless it IS. The first draft of the bill is badly written and rambles. I will not make serious comment until I have had a chance to pull apart the subsections and try to understand their intent.

Your directed comments on specific parts or lines of this bill, after you first read it would be greatly appreciated. Please lets stay focused on the specific bill at hand.

More to come, as the fog of language clears!


FORWARNED IS FORARMED
 
Washington State Assault Weapon Ban UPDATE

After extensive reading and re-reading here is what I think this bill would do;

Labels some Pistols, Rifles and Shotguns Assault Weapons by how they look, and BANS them. Places criminal Felony penalties for violations.

Prohibits the manufacture, purchase, or transfer of Assault Weapons, box magazines (over 10 rounds) and conversion or parts kits to build certain firearms.

Allows for the inspection of your home by Law Enforcement to ensure compliance.

Prohibits the use of Assault Weapons upon public lands. (except for authorized ranges)

Makes ownership of box magazines with capacity of over ten round a crime.

For those of you who would like a ALERT flyer to pass out please contact me by PM with your e-mail address and I will forward you one that went out to the rank and file of my organization. You may view it below.

Assault Weapons Ban for the State of Washington

A group of four State Senators has introduced Senate Bill 6396, legislation that would bring California-style gun-control to the Northwest and ultimately ban many semi-automatic firearms commonly owned by Washingtonians. Like the failed Clinton Gun-Ban that sunset in 2004, this bill is about demonizing certain firearms based on how they look, not about crime fighting. This gun ban scheme will only punish law-abiding citizens and will do nothing to curb crime or keep criminals from obtaining firearms illegally. This is simply another attack on our Second Amendment rights in Washington State. The link to full text of this bill: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2009-10/Pdf/Bills/Senate Bills/6396.pdf
This legislation would establish far-reaching restrictions on semi-automatic firearms (dubbing them "assault weapons") and ammunition magazines. SB6396 affects every firearm modified to conform with the now-extinct Clinton Gun-Ban plus many other semi-automatic firearms that have no lineage to those rifles or any military-style orientation whatsoever.
These are the highlights of this bill, there is MORE;

 Labels some Pistols, Rifles and Shotguns Assault Weapons by how they look, and BANS them. Places criminal Felony penalties for violations.
 Prohibits the manufacture, purchase, or transfer of Assault Weapons, box magazines (over 10 rounds) and conversion or parts kits to build certain firearms.
 Allows for the inspection of your home by Law Enforcement to ensure compliance.
 Prohibits the use of Assault Weapons upon public lands. (except for authorized ranges)

Please join me in making our voices heard, by calling the Republican members of the State Senate Judiciary committee and expressing our displeasure concerning Senate Bill 6396.

Senator Bob McCaslin
*Ranking Minority Member
(R) 4th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
112 Irv Newhouse Building
PO Box 40404
Olympia, WA 98504-0404

Phone (360) 786-7606
Fax: (360) 786-1999


Senator Mike Carrell
Republican Deputy Floor Leader
(R) 28th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
102 Irv Newhouse Building
PO Box 40428
Olympia, WA 98504-0428

Phone (360) 786-7654
Fax: (360) 786-7819


Senator Pam Roach
(R) 31st LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT
Olympia Office:
202 Irv Newhouse Building
PO Box 40431
Olympia, WA 98504-0431

Phone (360) 786-7660
Fax: (360) 786-7173


Thanks, and more to come!


Good Luck and Be Safe
 
We've been discussing this at NorthwestFirearms:

http://www.northwestfirearms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21862

There is a good article from Dave Workman here:

http://www.examiner.com/x-4525-Seat...ll-introduced-to-ban-socalled-assault-weapons

You should contact ALL of the Senate Judiciary Committee members even if you know they won't care about your opinion.

Here are the email addresses:

Senator Adam Kline kline.adam@leg.wa.gov District 37 D
Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles kohl-welles.jeanne@leg.wa.gov District 36 D
Senator Mike Carrell carrell.michael@leg.wa.gov District 28 R
Senator James Hargrove hargrove.jim@leg.wa.gov District 24 D
Senator Pam Roach roach.pam@leg.wa.gov District 31 R
Senator Debbie Regala regala.debbie@leg.wa.gov District 27 D
Senator Rodney Tom tom.rodney@leg.wa.gov District 48 D
Senator Bob McCaslin mccaslin.bob@leg.wa.gov District 4 R

Also, don't forget to contact all your legislators:

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx
 
I don't live there, but may someday soon.

I sent them the following email; short and sweet.

Dear representative,

I am an avid supporter of the Second Amendment to the Bill of RIGHTS of the US Constitution. I also vote for my elected leaders. Be sure that I, and all other gun owners, will vote you out of your elected postition if you force more unwanted gun laws down our throats.
 
Well, thats just peachy!

As I read it, They seem to have covered all the bases (or nearly so) for everything anti gunners could want. I didn't see a section (using the provided link) that would require current owners to undergo a background check. But that's about all that seems missing.

Includes PUMP ACTION rifles and shotguns! Includes thubmhole stocks. No muzzle brakes or "compensators" which would likely include flash suppressors.

NO MAGAZINES OVER 10 ROUNDS. EVER, FOR ANY PURPOSE. NO GRANDFATHERING currently owned magazines over 10 rounds.

They will generously let us keep "assault weapons" we currently own, but not the magazines. Requirement for safe storage, with the local Sherrif (or other LEO) being able to "inspect" your home (once a year) for compliance. No warrant needed!

Legal uses and posession restrictions for assault weapons didn't seem to include hunting. Guess that means no hunting with an AR (including varmints), no matter what caliber it is.

I didn't see a section requiring registration (although it may be somewhere else), and without one, I wonder how they will be able to enforce the storage and inspection sections? Perhaps by simple house to house "inspection" (warrantless entry) by LEOs, until they determine there are no "assault weapons" on the premises?

This is the typical knee jerk reaction, although written a bit more comprehensively than some, banning and restricting firearms and accessories that have statistically minimal use in street crime. One has to wonder, with everything else going on in the state, why a bill that would do NOTHING about crime, and only **** off a lot of gunowners would be a good thing for anyone's political career. Might not be a bad idea to let some of these legislators know that.

There are a lot of "assault weapon" owners on the west side, even though the govt there is overwhelmingly liberal/leftist. There is an even higher percentage of the population (if not actual numbers) of east siders that own (or would like to own) "assault weapons". If we make our voices heard, this bill will die.
 
44 AMP

They will generously let us keep "assault weapons" we currently own, but not the magazines. Requirement for safe storage, with the local Sheriff (or other LEO) being able to "inspect" your home (once a year) for compliance. No warrant needed!
Click to expand...

Since you brought up the point, I have several questions.

1st HOW will local LE KNOW that said Assault Weapon is in your home? Or is this an open invite for LE to "inspect" every-one's home randomly? My personal thoughts are that Notification / registration will become part of this bill before long!

2nd What will be the FEE charged if notification / registration is added to this bill? Since it is a NEW class of firearms in Washington could that fee be $10.00 or $1,000 per gun, we will have to wait and see.

3rd Since this is a NEW class of firearm, might there be ADDITION restrictions placed upon ownership of this new class of firearm exceeding the current restrictions on owning mere pistols, rifles or shotguns within the state of Washington?

SO MANY QUESTIONS, SO FEW ANSWERS!

Good Luck & Be Safe
 
Wasn't sure how Washington state operates, but wouldn't FFL transfer records be available to BATFE? I know they have the authority to enter my home to inspect my records. Why would it be any different if there's record of transaction in Washington?
 
Tuttle8

Quote:
1st HOW will local LE KNOW that said Assault Weapon is in your home?

I don't know about Washington state, but what about access to records from the BATFE?
Click to expand...

How it works in our state;

ATF / NICS by law has NO stored data base for purchase, it only knows that an individual purchased a HANDGUN / LONG GUN / OTHER. The only way ATF would know exactly what you purchased was to visit the gun shop and examine the 4473.

Washington State currently only tracks HANDGUNS, and since the current bill only considers pistols with things hanging off the barrel or shrouded barrel's as the dreaded Assault Weapon these records would be useless.

Good question, keep asking:)


Good Luck and Be Safe
 
I'm not doubting the seriousness of the bill, but are there enough representatives in WA to support this? It just appears to be a stout jump in content for politicians to think it will pass under the radar...
 
Tuttle8

The current problem is that the sponsor and a co-sponsor of the bill sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bills sponsor Alan Kline is the chairman of this committee and unless pressure is brought to bear by the Republican members of this committee, Kline will hold onto this bill in HIS committee and work to refine it to a whole new beast.

Does it have a chance to pass a floor vote of both houses in it's current form? NO I do not believe so, once Kline has had time to refine it, WHO KNOWS.

Good Luck & Be Safe
 
Best of luck. Looks like you might have a bit of a battle on your hands. Hopefully NRA/ILA will stay on top of this to place pressure on your politicians...
 
It's a stupid act of repression, and needs to be put down politically at once. Call or write your representative now.

Don't get sidetracked on definitions of ASW, storage, etc., we don't want any of it whatsoever.
 
Before the mid-term elections...

The bill is stupid, certainly, and demands political response, but it is not something that should be dismissed as "unlikely to proceed" through the legislative process.

As 44 AMP notes this bill contains nearly everything on anti-gun agendas set forth by the Brady Campaign, and has no doubt been vetted by a peer review consisting of Brady evangelists.

Another incremental step in this direction recently was signed into law in California, by (R) Gov. Schwarzenegger. A.B. 962 "Ammunition Registration" bill "will require buyers of ammunition (in California) to --
* provide government ID;
* fill out paperwork;
* provide a thumbprint;
* store ammunition in locked cabinets; and will
* eliminate delivery of ammunition sold online to residents of California"
(NRA 1st Freedom, January 2010, pg 50).

44 AMP said:
"...One has to wonder, with everything else going on in the state, why a bill that would do NOTHING about crime, and only **** off a lot of gunowners would be a good thing for anyone's political career. Might not be a bad idea to let some of these legislators know that."
Click to expand...

This is an excellent path forward, as mid-term elections will occur in 2010. Seattle has long been proud of it's liberal paradigm, and has also enjoyed incremental success in passing anti-gun legislation - which may have emboldened the current sponsors of this bill ("NRA sues City of Seattle over Illegal Gun Ban", NRA 1st Freedom, January 2010, pg 53).

But nearly all legislators are sensitive to widespread implication that their jobs may be lost during the next elections, and it is in our interest to make this statement directly to those legislators who are - in the midst of one of the most distressing economic crises to hit the State of Washington in decades - wasting time passing "assault weapon" bills that enrage gun-owners while accomplishing nothing at all tangible in the way of reducing risk to citizens or solving the economic malaise that has virtually crippled the government of (Democratic) Governor Cris Gregoire.

It is, however, worth noting that six law enforcement officers have recently been killed on the job in Washington, and at least one of them - Officer Brenton, murdered in October 2009 - was killed with a semi-automatic .223 caliber rifle. The fact that Officer Brenton was tragically murdered with such a weapon may have played a role in this bill being brought forward in the Senate Judiciary Committee. This is a photograph of the rifle that was linked to Officer Brenton's murder:
http://spdblotter.seattle.gov/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Image14.jpg
from
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/11/09/spd-more-details-on-brenton-murder-suspect

A poster named "duncanjm" made the following statement, however, I cannot verify whether it is true or not: "Rifle is a Kel-Tec SU-16. Before anyone tries to say that we need tighter gun laws, know that this rifle doesn't have any of the "assault rifle" features that were in the previous ban. It's even legal for sale in California."


Please call and write your legislators if you live in the State of Washington.

Doc
 
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Ok everybody, I am in the process of reading through this bill, confusing as it is. I already have some info on this bill and its chances of passing, but what does everyone here think?

Will this pass???
 
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