Greetings WAHTF!

Work and life have kept me busy, but I wanted to update y'all on what I know regarding some of the anti-gun bills.  We are coming up on another major deadline/cutoff for the 2021 legislative session.  Technically, by 1700 hours on 09 March 2021, non-fiscal bills must be passed out of their chamber of origin (HB's out of the House chamber and SB's out of the Senate chamber).  If they don't, technically they are "dead" for this session.  I have italicized "technically" because there always seems to be some form of procedural trickery that can be deployed to advance a bill even after cutoff.  However...

I don't have the official tally, but there are over 120 House Bills that need to be voted on technically by 1700 hours on March 9th and some 130 Senate Bills.  That's a lot of work.  What does that mean for us law abiding firearm owners in Washington?  Well, bills that are contentious can eat up a lot of time with floor debate, especially if our pro-gun reps start attaching amendments to a bill, as each amendment must be read and given time for debate.  So, if we can keep the pressure up on our elected representatives and let them know that there is much opposition, they are less likely to bring any anti-gun bills to the floor for a vote.

For those bills that have already passed out of their chamber of origin and are sitting in the opposite house, the cutoff is 26 March.

So, here are the three bills we need to contact our elected representatives about:

SSB 5078 - Titled "Firearm Safety" but really is a "hi-cap" magazine ban.  It is still in the Senate Rules Committee awaiting a date on the calendar for a floor vote.  LET'S KEEP IT STUCK IN COMMITTEE!!!

Bill Information and Green "Comment on this Bill" Button -- USE IT!!

If you want to email the members of the Senate Rules Committee (be polite and respectful please!)  their email addresses are:

[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];

ESSB 5038 Banning the open carry of weapons around snowflakes (not the real title )

This is now the Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5038.  It passed the Senate and currently sits in the House awaiting a public hearing in the House Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee (public hearing = another chance to raise our voice IF it even gets a public hearing).

Let's see if we can't keep it stuck in committee!!

ESSB 5038 Info Page and Green "Comment on this Bill" Button

Again, if you are polite, you can email the members of the House Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee here:

[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];

I bolded & highlighted Representatives Walsh and Ybarra as I know those two are very pro-gun.  I don't know about the rest on the above list.  If anybody in WAHTF knows about any of the others, please share!

SHB 1283 - Substitute House Bill 1283 - another open carry ban that is even more insidious than ESSB 5038.  SHB 1283 pretty much defines anything as a weapon, just about anything as a "protest" and includes forfeiture of CPL if convicted.

This one is in the House Rules Committee (chamber of origin) awaiting a floor vote.  LET'S KEEP IT STUCK IN COMMITTEE!!!

SHB 1283 Info Page and You Know What To Do!!!

If you choose to contact the House Rules Committee members individually, please be nice!

[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];

The flyer below has a few other bills that may be of interest.

HUGE THANKS TO ALL OF YOU IN WAHTF-LAND FOR GETTING ACTIVE AND STAYING ACTIVE!!! This is a true grass-roots movement and that fact is actually ADDING TO OUR IMPACT!!!  Yep, the politicians (pro and anti) in Olympia know that there are no big-money doners backing us so every comment and email is coming from somebody who is fired up and passionate about their firearms rights!!!

Attached File

Thanks for all the work you do, it is much appreciated.  

If we had contacted our representatives before, should we do it again?  

I'm trying to be more of an activist while I am still living in this state, and right now this forum is my only source of current hoplophobic events.

Excellent question and thank you for asking!!  YES - Contact your reps again!  They need to know that these anti-gun bills are not as popular as the other side is trying to lead them to believe.  They need to hear it LOUD AND CLEAR!! (but politely!)

Sometimes, the easiest way to please both sides (pro-gun and anti-gun) is to not even bring a bill to the floor for a vote.  Once they vote on a bill, how they voted becomes part of the permanent, public record.  For some politicians in strongly anti-gun districts - it doesn't matter.  However, there are a number of districts that could swing either way.  Those are especially the districts and reps that need to hear from us.  Even the pro-gun reps like to know your opposition.  It helps them with side negotiations plus they can go to their leadership and say:  "I am getting a lot of strong opposition to this particular bill..." which again, helps determine whether a bill should be brought forward out of the Rules Committee.  The more contentious the bill, the more the likelihood of copious floor debate, amendments, riders, etc. which can slow the process down.

And thank you for your efforts to become more of an activist!!  NO ACTION IS TOO SMALL!!!

Done! Only takes a couple of minutes guys..... Just Do IT!!!!

“Thank you for reaching out with your concerns for House Bill 1283. As your representative, I believe that open carrying should not be used as a form of intimidation. I will keep your comments in mind as HB 1283 moves through the legislative process.

I appreciate your alerting me to the issues that matter to you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out in the future. If you would like to stay up to date on what I am doing in Olympia, use the link below to sign up for my e-newsletter.

Best Regards,


Dr. Mari Leavitt
WA State House Representative | 28th Legislative District
Legislative Assistant: Barbara Gilchrist | 253.256.0302 | [email protected]
330 John L. O’Brien Building
Toll Free Hotline: 1-800-562-6000”

Thanks for the update!  My wife and I will email these reps you listed.

WA civil rights update

Awesome!