I don't see this, did I beat Phil?
GOAL Post 2007-Final
Legislative Update from Olympia 18 May 2007
SESSION WINDS DOWN WITH NO ACTION ON GUNS
THEY’LL BE BACK NEXT YEAR
HOLMQUIST & HURST DESIGNATED “LEGISLATOR(S) OF THE YEAR”
VIRGINIA TECH SHOOTINGS DOMINATE NEWS
GUN CONTROL BILL(S) MAY MOVE IN CONGRESS
PARKER et al v DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The 2007 regular session of the Washington legislature adjourned sine die at midnight, Sunday, 22 April. All gun related bills (pro- and con-) filed this year died in various stages of the process and are dead for the year. The Rebecca Griego murder/suicide at the University of Washington in early April and the mass shooting at Virginia Tech six days before the end of the session had no impact on the gun bills at that late stage. Fortunately for us, none of the gun control bills under consideration fit the circumstances of those shootings. (Gun control advocates frequently introduce bills they know stand no chance of passage – UNLESS an incident occurs that they can claim would have been prevented “had this bill already been law.”)
Gun control advocates in the legislature have assured us they will be back next year, pushing this year’s bills and probably new ones as well. In our favor is the fact that 2008 is an election year, and as a general rule legislators try to shy away from controversial issues during election years. It’s up to US to ensure that the gun issue remains too hot a potato for legislators to touch.
The WAC board of directors has unanimously voted to designate Senator Janea Holmquist (R-Moses Lake) and Representative Christopher Hurst (D-Enumclaw) as “WAC Legislator(s) of the Year” for 2007. The two individuals are particularly deserving of special recognition. Senator Holmquist spoke for all gun owners in her role as a Republican member of the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee in fighting SB 5197, the “gun show loophole” bill. She demonstrated a deep understanding of what the gun show bill would have done to harm the WAC (and other gun shows in Washington) and wasn’t afraid to put hard questions not only to the bill’s supporters, but to other committee members as well. Her subsequent comments to a Seattle newspaper reporter were right on the mark.
While the bill did not make it over to the House of Representatives, had it gone that far it would have been dead on arrival. Representative Hurst expended a great deal of effort and the power of persuasion to enlist nearly two dozen Democrat members to oppose the bill. Speaker of the House Frank Chopp, a Seattle Democrat himself, recognized the handwriting on the wall and wisely chose to let the issue drop. Rep. Hurst is a “retread” in the legislature, having served two terms several years ago. Hurst is a retired police officer with a long history of supporting the rights of gun owners, going back to his college days where he was a founding member of the Students Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, now better known as the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA).
The mass shooting at Virginia Tech dominated the national media for a month following the incident. Editorial opinions ranged from demands to ban handguns to allowing licensed staff and students to carry handguns on campus, and everywhere in between.
At least two state legislatures have introduced bills specifically authorizing concealed carry license holders to lawfully possess firearms on college campuses, and Utah just recently passed similar legislation.
At least one previously filed gun control bill and a few new ones have been introduced on Capitol Hill in response to the Virginia Tech shooting. H.R. 297, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy’s “NICS Improvement Act” is being rewritten – allegedly with the help of senior Democrat Congressman (and former NRA director) John Dingell and with the help of the NRA – to ensure mental health prohibitions are adequately written into federal law, and for other purposes. McCarthy also introduced H.R. 1859, a bill to ban any magazine with a capacity of more than 10 rounds. Also under consideration is S. 1237 and House counterpart H.R. 2074. The alleged target of these two bills is terrorists’ access to guns. The solution: allow the Attorney General to use the terrorist watch list as a vehicle to ban gun purchases. That may sound good to you, until you consider that no one knows who is on the watchlist, no one knows how you get your name added to that list, and no one knows how you get your name off that list. There is absolutely no due process involved. And while we tend to think of “terrorists” these days as someone of Middle Eastern origin, under federal definition it includes many categories of domestic terrorists as well, including ardent “constitutionalists.” Do you know anybody like that?
On May 8th , the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia denied the city’s request for an en banc rehearing by the entire 10-member circuit in the case of Parker et al v District of Columbia. On March 9 of this year, the D.C. Court declared that city’s virtual ban on handguns an unconstitutional infringement on the individual citizen’s right to keep and bear arms. This is the first time that a gun control law was actually overturned on pure Second Amendment grounds. The District has until early August to decide whether to accept the Appeals Court ruling or further appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Inside sources claim the gun control community (Sarah Brady, et al) are urging D.C. Mayor Fenty to stay away from the Supreme Court and just try to rewrite the D.C. ban to allow very restrictive handgun licensing a la New York City.
I have included a complete list of 2007 gun bills in the Bill Status
section below.
BILL STATUS:
The following bills were considered during the 2007 session. They may
return in 2008.
Bill # Subject Sponsor Status
HB 1011 Alien firearm licenses Moeller (D-49) Died H. Jud.
HB 1014 Mandatory safe storage Moeller (D-49) Died H. Jud.
HB 1026 Gun show loophole Williams (D-22) Died H. Jud.
HB 1126 CPL extension Morrell (D-25) Died S. Rules
HB 1633 Prohibit confis. during emerg. Roach (R-31) Died H. Jud.
HB 1764 Prohibit stun guns for students Lantz (D-26) Died H. Jud.
HB 2036 Shooting range protection Van De Wege (D-24) Died H. Jud.
HB 2168 Gun safety education program Chase (D-32) Died H. Jud.
HB 2177 Weapon definition Moeller (D-49) Died H. Jud.
ESHB 2268 Weapons at schools Lantz (D-26) Died S. Jud.
SSB 5197 Gun show loophole Tom (D-48) Died S. Rules
ESSB 5456 Alien firearm licenses Morton (R-7) Died H. Jud.
SB 5465 Restoration of gun rights Schoesler (R-9) Died S. Rules
SB 5516 Prohibit confis. during emerg. Stevens (R-39) Died S. Jud.
SB 5791 School gun safety program Sheldon (D-35) Died S.Educ.
Key to abbreviations: S. = Senate, H. = House, Jud = Judiciary, Educ =
Early Learning/K-12 Education, Lab/Comm = Labor, Commerce, Research &
Development
PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED:
None
GOAL POSITION ON BILLS:
N/A
LEGISLATIVE HOT LINE: You may reach your Representatives and Senator by
calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Toll free!!! The
hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993. Also toll free!!!
1-800-562-6000 TDD 1-800-635-9993
OTHER DATA: Copies of pending legislation (bills), legislative schedules and other information are available on the legislature's web site at "www.leg.wa.gov
<../Documents%20and%20Settings/HP_Administrator/Desktop/www.leg.wa.gov>".
Bills are available in Acrobat (.pdf) format. You may download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from Adobe's web site (http://www.adobe.com <http://www.adobe.com/>). You may also obtain hard copy bills, initiatives, etc, in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573. Copies of bills may also be ordered toll free by calling the Legislative Hotline at (800) 562-6000.
You may also hear floor and committee hearing action live at http://www.tvw.org/ (you need "RealAudio" to do this, available free at the TVW web site).
By reading the House and Senate "bill reports" (hbr, sbr) for each bill, you can see how individual committee members voted. By reading the "roll call" for each bill, you can see how the entire House or Senate voted on any bill. The beauty of the web site is that ALL this information is available, on line, to any citizen.
GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail, send a message to "[email protected]". Please pass GOAL Post on to anyone you believe may have an interest in protecting our rights. Better yet, make a couple of copies of this message, post it on your gun club’s bulletin board, and leave copies with your local gun shop(s). PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED TO DUPLICATE OR REDISTRIBUTE GOAL POST PROVIDED IT IS REPRODUCED IN ITS ENTIRETY WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at "[email protected]" or by telephone at (425) 454-4915 (work). Unfortunately, I am unable to mail hard copy GOAL Post to individuals. Limited numbers of hard copies MAY be available at the Second Amendment Foundation book table at WAC gun shows.
Upcoming WAC gun show(s):
Puyallup 19-20 May
Puyallup 2-3 June
Monroe 23-24 June
"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men."
Article 1, Section 24
Constitution of the State of Washington
Copyright 2007 Gun Owners Action League of WA |
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