Sign up for Senate hearings here: **https://app.leg.wa.gov/CSIRemote/Senate** (BOTH of these bills are Senate law and justice committee hearings, Jan 25 and Jan 26) **Please sign up, they just added ~150 new pro testifiers in the last hour, obviously coordinated. We are now outnumbered. YOU NEED TO SIGN UP TO TESTIFY IN PERSON, PLEASE DO IT NOW! EVEN IF YOU ALREADY SUBMITTED WRITTEN TESTIMONY**

Also install zoom (**https://zoom.us/download**) now and make sure you can open links to calls and have a working mic (at least) and a camera if possible. Your phone works too.

Ok now for some **tips on verbal testimony** (there's some humor here, not trying to poke at anyone!)

- **Introduce yourself properly.** "Mr. (the chair is male in this case) Chair and members of the committee, I am John Smith from Seattle. I am here representing myself. I oppose this bill because . . ."

- **Time limits.** you're only going to speak for 1-3 minutes max. Prepare more material than that as you'll want to try making points that other people haven't made already where possible. But also reinforce strong arguments. Practice speaking out loud, this really helps me personally.

- **Emotional appeal and legal reasoning.** I know it's frustrating but to be honest the "but my rights" line will fall on deaf ears. Use emotive stories, some strong data points (don't just read off of a spreadsheet), and point out how these bills jeopardize law abiding citizens and will lead to awful court cases. Talk about the mag ban not really having grandfathering etc.

- **Don't engage with the pro side or let them anger you.** It is very likely some 'pro' testifiers will try to construe people testifying on our side as all sorts of negative things. Just ignore it. Don't insult them, don't be insulted. It's designed to upset you and make you look bad.

- **Use your identity.** Nothing to put as your organization when you sign up? If you're a veteran, active duty mil, an advocate for social justice, a protestor, a lifelong democrat, a new gun owner  this year... consider putting that in or mentioning it when you testify. Represent the diversity of Washington's gun owners, tie gun control into the other issues it inflames.

- But on that note **avoid discussing controversial non-gun related topics.** It detracts from what we're saying and brings emotion about other issues into play.

- **Do not say anything that can even remotely be construed as violent or threatening.** Optics. This is all really, really bad. It is entirely damaging. Don't be rude in general, don't call anyone on the committee a communist or a tyrant or a fascist.

-**If you have your camera on, look sharp.** Wear a nice shirt or blouse, take a shower, move the pile of mags in the back of your room.

-**If you're nervous...** write a note card with your main points on it. If you're REALLY nervous write out everything you want to say. Or more. You can turn your camera off if it makes you too anxious too. All good.

**Ban on ownership of firearm magazines over 10 rounds: [SB 5078](https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?billnumber=5078&year=2021)**

Talking points:

- Even with the weak grandfather clause, it is completely illegal to use these magazines defensively or for concealed carry, effectively criminalizing any practical use and making the already liability-ridden grandfather clause largely irrelevant. According to the language of the bill, you would be breaking the law by having grandfathered mags in your car that are loaded or not locked in a separate container on the way to the range. The lawful activity of most gun owners in the state will be criminalized.

- Owners have to prove that they owned the magazines before the ban, which is impossible. Magazines are not serialized in any way forcing owners to prove a negative in order to avoid criminal prosecution and liability. Again, we really want to hammer on the legal issues and criminal culpability rather than "muh rights" or just spamming data on how non-dangerous mags are in WA... they know and they don't care. It's all about showing how legally jeopardizing is, that's something they will genuinely want to avoid.

- Essentially all modern firearms use >10 round magazines, the bill's claim that nearly all handguns use less than 10 round magazines is blatantly untrue. The most common handgun in America, the Glock 17, uses 17 round magazines.

- The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs' [extensive, peer-reviewed and well-funded study](https://www.waspc.org/assets/docs/Mass%20Shootings%20Work%20Group%20Report%20\(Compressed%20File\).pdf) regarding firearm violence solutions explicitly DID NOT recommend a mag ban, despite demands to do so by political groups. Please direct your attention to the recommendations listed on pages 4, 5 and 6.

- The exemption for off-duty and retired LEO is ridiculous. Police officers are not a superior class of citizens and should not enjoy separate rights. This ban is ineffectual and criminalizing and should not apply to anyone. The fact that an LE carveout is desired shows this.

- A slightly less egregious version of this law (no LEO exemption, 15 round limit) was defeated last session with bipartisan opposition in the state senate. More Washingtonians of all political and demographic backgrounds own firearms now than last session, and the bill is even more mass criminalizing. This is not politically wise And a CA ban is being challenged and has been ruled against in the 9th circuit, why pass a law that has a >50% chance of being ruled unconstitutional?

Im honestly concerned about all my friends who are cops getting shot for trying to take peoples mags. Someone should think of all the officers. I cant call in etc but I wish someone would really voice my concerns because we don't need this shit right now. These guys just want to do their job etc and politicians keep coming up with this bullshit that makes it so dangerous for them.

bump

[Deleted]

So the same people that just stole a Presidential election in front of God and everybody are going to let us keep guns?

You're damn delusional.

Bump

As a Sheriff Deputy, I tell you to inform all of your LE friends to throw their badges in their supervisor's faces if given such an order. My Sheriff has already told the Feds to shove it and will not comply with any such unconstitutional and illegal order!

Ost

@far_north_311

OP, I really applaud the amount of information and guidance in your post.
This appears to be a Washington State issue if I'm reading it right.

Maybe you could give a little more of an introduction about how you got here.
The meat in your post about testimony is great; but you need to rally the right troops quickly to help your cause.
It doesn't appear that me being a few thousand miles away in a different state can help you; but I still support you.

Thread title is ambiguous.  I had to read quite a bit before it was apparent that this is Washington STATE not Washington DC.

OP should change thread title to prevent confusion.

Great post, just needs a title update to clarify that this is Washington State, not DC.

I would not recommend active duty mil identify as such when giving testimony if not acting in their official capacity.  If I were still on active duty I would probably go with veteran anyway.

Emails help.  In this Thread in the WAHTF  the emails of all Washington state senators are posted.  If you're outside of WA email directly, they don't know where you are.

If you're in WA use the legislature website at link below.  You'll have to verify your district to send a message.

More info about  SB5078

I send messages directly to all senators,  then comment on the legislature website.

Seconded.

Best of luck OP. It’s California’s turn next month. Does Washington state have something like we have with California Rifle and Pistol Association leading the fight?

Seriously.  The entire left coast is long gone to me, I can't imagine why any real people would still be there.

Everybody who is remotely close needs to make the drive. We stand together or we hang, separately or otherwise.

Folks from Washington....this is the 9th circuit judge you need to support. Roger T Benitez.




He ass- fucked that piece of crap California Attorney General Bacerra's mag ban by allowing standard capacity magazines to be legally purchased for a few weeks...referred to as "freedom week".
Millions of mags were then legally purchased. This makes it virtually impossible for the state to charge californian's for possession of a "high-capacity" mag.
You should read up on the case and educate yourselves what it takes to fight that shit.

A viable choice for sainthood....

Good luck Washington, rooting for you. To me, gun control, ammunition and mag bans and restrictions are racist and founded in Jim Crow to target the poor and disenfranchised and leave them open to both systemic  and criminal victimization....

In WA state?  Far worse weather than KY.

ah dang, i'll read this early in the AM when I can actually focus on it, BUT, it wont bode well for ORegon in the future.

Really appreciate you sir.
A great way to to literally "stand" up for your rights.
Would an argument based around that if i have a magazine in my hand, i can change a magazine around a second, making a ten round limit mute to its proposed purpose?

I'm here because I have split custody of my kids. I literally can't leave without a new parenting plan. It's nightmarish.

Let us....

Oh, please mAsTA oh please LET me. Should we get on our hands and knees and beg 80 year old suits if they sign a piece of paper that says they won't LET us?

I’ve played by their rules for a long time now.....30+ years some of those as an actual lobbyist.
And here we are.

Now....I don’t care who they are or what they say and do. I’m just going to ignore them and live life like they don’t exist.

BAN op for misleading thread title.  Washington State....

Give em' Hell!

Resist.

Good luck.

Isn't the humidity 100% when it's raining?

No, maybe in a dense fog it approaches 100%.

Yes it is.  West coast = constant rain, or on fire.

I thought it is either raining all the time, or on fire. Which is it?

20 seconds

PNW weather is boring.  Gray and drizzle 9 months of the year, sunny and clear the other three.  Occasional wind but no real storms like we get here.

I much prefer the weather in Kansas, which tries to kill you or destroy your property on a regular basis.  

Reckon we can stay on track here, girlz? This thread is a bit more important than y'alls bitch slapping each other about the weather.

Good luck tomorrow, OP and you WA folks! Kick ass!!

Not even close pal, it’s really bad on the west side except for those non-raining and non-snowing ash weeks in July, but those 3 weeks are pretty sweet

Don't be rude!

Show respect to your lords!

Don't threaten therm while they threaten you!  

But Muh optics.

That will do it..

Still lots of good people here in WA, OR an CA, how about not being a douche, take a break from corn holeing your relatives an help out.?

I still root for you, but you are in occupied territory.

You are a southern gentleman, thank you, were fighting the good fight, best we can.

God speed to WA-tonians!
President Trump also appointed Lawrence Van Dyke to the 9th. Lawrence is a hunter and competitive shooter from Montana that has put a lot of effort into combatting gun control.

Good people like me

For a 12er, you'll do....

Its all theater at this point.

Damn.  

Enforce unconstitutional laws you take your chances.  At some point you walk away from the job instead of "just following orders."