Another week, another GOAL Post.
Looks like I wasn't the only one who liked the format Joe used a few times last year, with the GOAL position on bills in line with the bill info.
Again, I made minor corrections of spelling and formatting, and added links to the bills when they are first discussed in the narrative text.
Drang
***
TO: undisclosed-recipients:
SENT: Fri 2/6/2015 6:16 PM
SUBJECT: GOAL Post 2015-5
Legislative Update from Olympia 6 February 2015
- NEW BILLS FILED
- MISSED A COUPLE LAST WEEK!
- TOY GUN CONTROL
- "SAFE STORAGE" BILLS BACK
- BILLS MOVE
- PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULED
- TWO WEEKS UNTIL FIRST POLICY CHAMBER CUT-OFF
- FORMAT CHANGE:
MERGING "BILL STATUS" WITH "GOAL POSITION"
Only two new gun bills have been filed this week.
SB 5789, by Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-36) is
the Senate counterpart to HB 1747, the "this does not mandate how a
firearm is stored" bill.
SB 5831,
by Sen. Jim Honeyford (R-15) makes minor changes to the procedure to have
firearm rights restored after certain misdemeanor convictions.
While on the road earlier, I missed a few bills that should
have been listed last week:
HB 1442 by
Rep. Graham Hunt (R-2) promotes expansion of firearms/accessories and
ammunition manufacturing in Washington;
HBs 1594 and
1692 by Rep. Sharon Wylie (D-49) would ban the manufacture,
sale or possession of realistic-looking toy guns unless they are made of or
coated with some bright color to indicate their non-gun status;
HB 1731 by Rep.
Timm Ormsby (D-3) is the House counterpart to SB 5381, mandates a waiting
period before a firearm held by law enforcement may be returned to the legal
owner and that any complainant be informed that the firearm is being returned.
Toy guns in the crosshairs!
Not content to go after real guns, Rep. Sharon Wylie (D-49) has set her
sights on toy guns as well. She has
filed HBs 1594 and 1692, both of which require all imitation (toy) guns sold or
possessed in Washington to be made of some bright material or coloring to
distinguish them from "real" firearms. I guess Rep. Wylie isn't familiar with the real
pastel pistols offered these days by some manufacturers.
For the 11th time in the past 18 years, bills penalizing gun
owners if they fail to lock up their gun(s) and it/they are accessed by a
juvenile have been filed. HB 1747 (Kagi,
D-32) and SB 5789 (Kohl-Welles, D-36) are the bills in question. There are two significant differences in
these versions of the bill from previous versions: they raise the age limit of unauthorized
access from sixteen to eighteen, and they cover ALL firearms where previous
versions only addressed LOADED firearms.
The previous versions failed in several Democrat-controlled
legislatures... these should die as well, but you can expect they will receive
wide media attention.
The bills contain a clear statement that "Nothing in
this section mandates how or where a firearm must be stored." True statement, as far as it goes, but
misleading. If you DON'T lock up your
gun(s), and a minor accesses it/them, YOU can be charged with a crime. That's the bottom line. And while many legislators don't believe or
choose not to understand it, one size of gun security does not fit all. Everyone's circumstances vary, family
configuration, maturity of children, security situation, etc. It's not up to someone sitting in the comfort
of the legislative chamber to decide for you what works for you.
The existing reckless endangerment statute (RCW 9a.36.050)
already criminalizes a person who unnecessarily endangers another person with
ANYTHING. A charge of reckless
endangerment was deferred in the 2012 Kitsap school shooting. Maybe they should run a bill requiring
prosecutors to do their jobs. But what
the bill's proponents want is a GUN BILL, that demonizes GUNS, ignoring the
fact that unintentional gunshot injuries are far down the list of dangers to
children (and others). This isn't about
safety, it's about politics.
(The next time a gun control proponents talks about
"reasonable, common sense gun SAFETY" legislation, ask to see his or
her firearms safety instructor certification, or even a gun safety course
completion certificate. They won't have
one.)
Several hearings have been held on bills in the past two
weeks. Executive action (a vote) has
been taken on a few, others await a vote.
Hint: a committee chair can sit on a bill and not hold a vote... ever,
if he or she doesn't want to move the bill. HB 1131 (ivory sale/transfer) was
passed in amended form and sent to the House General Government committee for
further review. SB5036 (use of body
armor in a crime) passed out of Senate Law & Justice and now sits in Senate
Rules, awaiting a pull to the Senate floor for a full Senate vote.
At this point seven bills are scheduled for public hearing
this coming week. Senate Law &
Justice will take public testimony on five bills on Monday, 9 February, at 1:30
p.m. The bills are SBs 5831 (return of
firearms held by law enforcement), 5476
and 5539 (both exempt active law enforcement officers from the three-day
waiting period on handgun delivery -- just like that enjoyed by CPL holders
today), 5579 (exempts security guards from the I-594 background check requirement)
and 5615 (exempts active military personnel from I-594). HB 1731 (House version of SB 5831 -- return
of guns held by law enforcement) will be heard in House Judiciary on 10
February at 10:00 a.m. and HB 1857 (allows confiscation of firearms) in House Judiciary
on 11 February 8 a.m.
(If you can't make it to a public hearing but want to submit
comments on a given bill, you can do so via the legislative web site, on the
specific page for each bill.
Go to
http://app.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/ place
the bill number in the box and click on "search."
When the page appears for that specific bill,
click on the green box labeled "Comment on this bill."
Keep it polite, make a point or two, and cut
it off.
This isn't the place to vent --
you do that on Election Day!)
The first major cut-off comes in two weeks. There are two weeks remaining before bills
that have not received a public hearing and committee vote will die. Given the number of bills yet to receive
hearings and the limited time left, it's clear that the majority of bill will
die -- technically, at least -- on 20 February.
You may see a few evening hearings scheduled as committee chairs try to
cram bills in, but historically half or more of bills filed fail to clear to
clear the first hurdle.
At the request of several subscribers, I have changed the
GOAL Post format slightly. Basically, I
have merged the "Bill Status" and "GOAL Position" elements
into a single section. You can read the
basics about the bill (number, subject, sponsor, status" and on the next
line, the GOAL position on the bill.
I've tried putting all of it on the same line, but I run out of
space.
I've also been asked to prioritize bills, in support of or
opposition to. I can't do that for
several thousand subscribers. Each of
you has differing priorities, differing interests. You have to choose what's important to
you. If a particular bill needs special
attention, I'll do that in the narrative above.
BILL STATUS:
