Thoughts on WA i-594

by Woodsbum

Being an avid outdoorsman, hunter, shooter, and all around woods kinda guy I have been very scared of the way that groups are pushing their personal agendas on the rest of us and calling it “for our own good.” Since I got my voting packet in the mail yesterday I thought I would post a few things about what is being pushed down the throats of Washingtonians. Although I am very against measures such as this, I wanted to point out a few things.

  • I am personally against having my name in any government database because of the proven track record of abuse. This information from Freedom in Information Act queries where reporters post firearm permit holders information publicly, lack of security on such information (how many ACA Exchange breaches so far?), and persecution by government employees (IRS anyone?) just reeks of danger to law abiding citizens. The 594 really, truly creates a large firearm ownership database ripe for the plucking.
  • Virtually every firearm TRANSFER (putting the firearm into another person’s possession such as “hold this while I climb over this fence”) – with very few exceptions – would require a licensed firearm dealer to complete. SO…  If I was teaching a hunter’s safety course, I would have to hand the shotgun to a licensed dealer to perform the background check, wait the required time, have the student transport the firearm back to the shooting area, have them shoot, then repeat the process so that I could get the firearm back. If the firearm was handed back or forth before this check was done it would be a felony. No more handling firearms at a gun store either. Buy it, then touch it……
  • 594 doubles the waiting period for handgun sales also. Like this really accomplishes anything. Law abiding people don’t go to the store to buy firearms to kill or rob other people. How does this make any sense?
  • Again, 594 will specifically regulate transfers, not sales.  Under the language of I-594, in virtually all cases, a person merely handing his or her firearm to a family member (other than immediate family) or a friend cannot do so without brokering the transfer through a gun dealer with the accompanying fees, paperwork, taxes and, in the case of handguns, state registration. All of these transfers are obviously creating a registry to begin with even though only the “handgun” transfers are supposedly kept by the Department of Licensing. How could they not be if it has to go to the same place?

I highly recommend that you read the whole initiative. I cannot stress enough how the language of this initiative is based around transfers and not sales. There are some sections to try and mitigate the potential for people to get in trouble for letting someone else touch another person’s firearm, but again it is in normal “political” language that is very open to abuse and interpretation. If you doubt what I just said, take a look at the Washington laws regarding drinking in a bar. This law states that all people consuming alcohol must have a valid ID. There are no age restrictions so a 100 year old person that goes into a bar, by law, cannot enter and drink unless they have a valid ID of some sort. Common sense is gone and there is a $500-$2500 fine even if the 100 year old merely forgot their ID In the car and has a beer.

Although I know the NRA has their own agenda and doesn’t want any sort of registry, I have to agree that this is a bad initiative. Their statistics on how this would only catch less than 1% of the legal sales that end up in the hands of criminals says a lot. These guys get their own guns from the Justice Department so why would they want one from Cabela’s?

Anyway, here are a few videos from the NRA. I am not sure if this really meant that much to you or was helpful. It is an important thing to think about, however. How willing are you to give up all your rights as a citizen even though over 99% of the criminals out there are not affected?

This would affect more cops and law enforcement than it would criminals. Even they would have to go through this whole process if they were trying to even borrow a firearm….. Think about that.

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