We need YOU at the Capitol, tomorrow, Tuesday morning, January 21.
Five gun bills are being heard in two committees.
We need you present, and if you can’t be there, tune in by TVW, links below, and make follow up contacts with your legislators. We must push back hard, and we need your help!
Four bills attacking firearms owners being heard:
HB 1386 New taxes on guns and ammo
HB 1163 Requiring a permit to buy firearms, and requiring living fire training
HB 1132 One firearm per month limit, limits also applied to ammunition
HB 1152 Storage requirements in your home and auto
HB 1118 Restoring Second Amendment rights of non-violent felons (neutral exception)
Bill links are shown below. Read up on the bill, sign up to testify and reach out to your own legislator to let them know what you think (politely).
District 22 Emphasis
If you are in the 22nd Legislative District, your direct contact is particularly important. Your representatives are Beth Doglio and Lisa Parshley, both of Olympia. These two sponsor the worst gun legislation this year.
They need contact from their CONSTITUENTS, if you live in the 22nd District (Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater cities).
Email – YOU write the message in your own terms.
Phone calls are also important to press the message. Be brief, give bill numbers and one descriptive sentence per bill for why these are bad bills. Make sure they know you are their constituent.
One Bill Highlight: The Problems with HB 1152, Storage Requirements
Reviewed by Scott Pancoast
Legislative Alert CommitteeThis legislation details the requirements for storage of a firearm in a vehicle and in a residence, it also includes penalties for failing to meet the requirements.
For a pistol to be legally stored in a vehicle the pistol must be stored in a container:
1) Unloaded,
2) in an opaque container,
3) that is locked,
4) the container is hard-sided, and,
5) the container is affixed within the vehicle.
Additionally, the container must be concealed from view from outside the vehicle, and the vehicle must be locked.
Rifles and Shotguns have the same requirements for vehicle storage. However, if the rifle or shotgun is in a soft sided container a trigger lock is required.
Glove boxes and center consoles are not acceptable as a “CONTAINER”. However a console vault or container specifically designed to securely store firearms are acceptable. Some limited specific exemptions apply.
For a firearm to be legally stored in a residence, the firearm must have a trigger lock, or be stored in a gun safe.
Violation of this law start at a class 1 civil infraction (up to $1000) to a Class C Felony.
Additionally, a person cannot carry a loaded pistol in a vehicle Unless: 1) The person has a license to carry a concealed pistol; and a) is carrying the pistol, or b)the person is in the vehicle at with the pistol; or the pistol is securely store as described earlier. Failure to comply with this section misdemeanor.
Previous legislation made storage of a firearm where a “Prohibited Person” may gain access to a firearm a crime. The seriousness of the crime depended on what the “Prohibited Person” did with the firearm. Previously, firearm owners were exempt from liability is the weapon is stolen. However, This legislation also removes the exemption, and requires that the firearm owner to secure the firearm as described above.
So what happens if you as the owner of the firearm do not have a concealed pistol license. You cannot transport a firearm in a vehicle (misdemeanor) or the weapon is stolen from your vehicle and used in the commission of a crime, (at worst a Class C Felony). Or, what happens if the container can be removed from the vehicle with some degree of ease.