GOAL Post 2010-4
GOAL Post 2010-4
Legislative Update from Olympia 29 January 2010
PUBLIC HEARING ON SB 6396
313 SIGN-IN, 298 IN OPPOSITION TO 6396!
PUBLIC HEARING ON HB 2499
(Admin note: GOAL Post distribution was late last week because I was in Las Vegas working the annual Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trades (SHOT) show. I'm sending it out a few hours early this week because I'll be on my way to Orlando to attend the annual meeting of the Florida Sport Shooting Association. If there are any significant changes, I'll publish a separate GOAL Alert.)
Anticlimactic probably best describes the public hearing on SB 6396, except for the turn-out by gun owners. 313 citizens signed in for the hearing, 298 opposed to the bill, 14 in favor, and one confused gent didn't take a position. Several other gunnies showed up but didn't sign in because once again they "ran out" of sign-in sheets, or they were unable to find a parking space. WAY TO GO! AND THANK YOU!
(As with the hearing on gun shows in 2007, when well over 300 pro-gun citizens showed up, this kind of presence sends signals far across the campus. Even before the hearing ended, I received calls from House members across the campus asking what was going on and why did we have so many people there. This is what grassroots activism and grassroots lobbying is all about. That, and literally thousands of e-mails and calls to legislative offices urging a "no" vote on SB 6396.))
Judiciary Committee chair Kline, the bill's prime sponsor, limited testimony to three on each side of the issue, but took plenty of time for himself to proclaim the virtues of the bill. There was a lot of misinformation and misdirection passed out by the other side, from Chairman Kline to Washington Ceasefire president Ralph Fascitelli to Bellevue police chief Linda Pillo (allegedly speaking as a private citizen, but appearing in uniform. Had it been a debate format, almost all their points would have been easily refuted.
At this time, it does not appear the votes are there to pass the bill out of committee. It must clear the committee by Friday, 5 February, or be considered dead for the session.
Because this GOAL Post is coming out a day early, I can't provide a recap of the public hearing on HB 2499. Hopefully I'll have more next week.
At this point, no new gun bills have been introduced and no additional hearings are scheduled on gun bills.
BILL STATUS / GOAL POSITION ON BILLS:
Bill # Subject Sponsor Status HB 1604 Firearm suppressors Condotta (R-12) H. Jud. HB 2226 Retired peace officer qualification Orcutt (R-18) H. Jud HB 2264 Gun show regulation Williams (D-22) H. Jud. HB 2477 Gun sale liability Williams (D-22) H. Jud. HB 2499 Black powder storage/transport Bailey (R-10) H. C&L HB 2703 Sport shooting ranges Takko (D-19) H. Jud. HB 2709 Firearms freedom act Shea (R-4) H. Jud. HB 2711 Right to protection Shea (R-4) H. Jud. SB 6396 So-called "assault weapon" ban Kline (D-37) S. Jud. SB 6429 Suppressor use by police Brandland (R-42) S. Jud SB 6473 Right to protection Stevens (R-39) S. Jud. Key to abbreviations: HB = House Bill, SB = Senate Bill, H. Jud = House Judiciary, H. C&L = House Commerce & Labor GOAL POSITION ON BILLS: HB 1604 SUPPORT HB 2226 SUPPORT HB 2264 OPPOSE HB 2477 OPPOSE HB 2499 SUPPORT HB 2703 SUPPORT HB 2709 SUPPORT HB 2711 SUPPORT SB 6396 OPPOSE SB 6429 SUPPORT, IF AMENDED SB 6473 SUPPORT
PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED:
None
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". 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). 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 "jwaldron@halcyon.com". 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 "jwaldron@halcyon.com." 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):
Monroe 13-14 February
Puyallup 20-21 February
"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 2010 Gun Owners Action League of WA