FROM: GOAL <goalwa@cox.net>
TO: undisclosed-recipients:
SENT: Fri 1/16/2015 8:38 PM
SUBJECT: GOAL Post 2015-2
Legislative Update from Olympia 16 January 2015
- RALLY A SUCCESS
- FEDERAL LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST I-594
- WHY GOAL POST DOES NOT ADDRESS PURELY HUNTING ISSUES
- NO CUT-OFF CALENDAR YET
- GUN BILLS FILED
- PUBLIC HEARING(S) SCHEDULED
- PUBLIC HEARINGS 101
- LEGISLATOR CONTACT INFORMATION POSTED
A "Rally for your rights" was held on the
Legislative Building steps on Thursday.
Turnout was "several hundred," significantly fewer than the
"I will not comply" rally conducted last month -- but that rally was
held on the weekend, with no legislators present, while this one was on a work
day, with all legislators present and available to hear from their
constituents. As reported by SAF's Dave
Workman, one attendee noted, “Most of our people are at work, so they can pay
taxes and support other people who come down here to restrict our rights.” About two dozen individuals from the "I
will not comply" group were present, and reportedly some heckled
lawmakers. That does not help. And why did they even bother? At last month's rally they claimed they had
already nullified I-594 by their civil disobedience, so why did they bother to
come? (There's nothing wrong with civil
disobedience... in its place, as it was in December.). (BTW, those who chose to open carry inside
the legislature after the rally may have provoked a move to ban such
carry. There's a time and a place for
everything.)
A lawsuit was filed last week in federal district court in
Tacoma challenging many provisions of I-594, mostly dealing with various forms
of "transfer." Plaintiffs
include several individual citizens, both Washingtonians and non-residents of
Washington, firearms training facilities, private security/investigative
services, and others. Each category of
plaintiff has been negatively impacted by I-594, in different ways. We have been asked why I-594 was not simply
challenged as a whole on constitutional grounds. The simple answer is, the suit would be
dismissed almost immediately. Both the
Heller (2008) and McDonald (2010) decisions by the Supreme Court upholding the
right of the individual citizens to keep and bear arms allowed for various
restrictions to remain in place. At this
point, a piecemeal, provision by provision, challenge to 594 offers the
greatest likelihood of success.
Additional information may be found at http://www.saf.org/?p=4877
The focus of the GOAL Post is on firearms-related legislation
(90% of which is contained in RCW 9.41).
We do not address Title 77 (hunting code) unless it impacts firearms
directly. We will address bills having
an impact on self defense and/or the use of lethal force (typically in RCW
9A.16 or 9A.36). The Hunters Heritage
Council DOES track most Title 77 issues.
The session cut-off calendar has yet to be published. The cut-off calendar contains all the dates
by which bills must clear their policy committee or their chamber (House or
Senate). Bills that fail to clear these
hurdles are nominally dead for the remainder of the session, although
exceptions can be made.
Several firearm-related bills have already been filed. House Bill 1119 (HB 1119), by Rep. Brian
Blake (D-19), clarifies and streamlines various provisions of the existing
Washington state Hunter Education Program.
HB 1191, by Rep. David Taylor (R-15) would mandate a renewal notice be
mailed to CPL holders 90 days prior to license expiration. HB 1193, also by Rep. Taylor, would
eliminates the state pistol registry and prohibit the state from maintaining
any data base of handgun purchasers. HB
1245, by Rep. Matt Shea (R-4) would repeal all provisions of I-594. (Recognize that for a two year period
following adoption, it takes a 2/3 vote of the legislature to amend in any way
an initiative passed by the people. HB
1245 is unlikely to gain that level of support, but Rep. Shea is making an
important statement by filing the bill.
Other action is current under way -- both legislative and through
litigation -- to limit the impact of I-594.)
Public hearings have been scheduled for next week for SB
5036 and HB 1119. The purpose of a
public hearing is to gather information from the bill's sponsor(s), other
stakeholders (individuals or organizations with a direct interest in the bill),
and members of the public. See the
commentary below on how to participate in a public hearing. Most public hearings are two hours in length,
with the time divided among several bills under consideration and other committee
business to be addressed. Thus the time
spent on each bill is limited. Keep in
mind, too, that the committee chair has full discretion as to who is called to
testify and who is not. SB 5036 will be
heard in Senate Law & Justice on Monday, 19 January (the legislature does
NOT close for holidays; both MLK Day and Presidents' Birthday are legislative
work days.). HB 1113 will be heard in
the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee on 20 January. The hearing schedule appears below.
As the name implies, public hearings on bills are open to
the public. A sign-in sheet will
typically be found on a table just inside or outside the hearing room. Attendees are not required to sign in, but
may do so. If you wish to speak on a
bill, or take a position on the bill ("pro" or "con"), you
must sign in. If called upon to testify,
there is usually a three minute limit on comments. You should keep it short and sweet,
preferably no more than one or two points.
If someone before you already made that point, do not repeat it. No personal attacks or attacks on the motives
of other speakers is allowed. Just make
a positive or negative statement about the content of the bill in
question. You do not have to wear a coat
and tie or business attire to attend or speak at a hearing, but you should
dress neatly. Your appearance says a lot
about YOU.
{Legislative and information on bills submitted this week, plus an addendum to this GOAL Post, after the break. DWD}
{Legislative and information on bills submitted this week, plus an addendum to this GOAL Post, after the break. DWD}
The legislative web site is found at leg.wa.gov. Additional information is available at the
following sites:
(Next week's GOAL Post may run a day or so late as I will be
at the annual Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trades (SHOT) show in Las Vegas. If I can't send it out from my hotel room,
I'll get it out when I get home.)
BILL STATUS:
Bill #
|
Subject
|
Prime sponsor
|
Status
|
HB 1119
|
Hunter education issues
|
Blake (D-17)
|
H. Ag/NatRes
|
HB 1191
|
CPL renewal notices
|
Taylor (R-15)
|
H. Jud.
|
HB 1193
|
Prohibiting gun owner data base
|
Taylor (R-15)
|
H. Jud.
|
HB 1245
|
Repeals I-594
|
Shea (R- 4)
|
H. Jud.
|
SB 5036
|
Body armor
|
O'Ban (R-28)
|
S. L&J
|
HB = House Bill, SB = Senate Bill, H. Jud. = House
Judiciary, S. L&J = Senate Law & Justice, H. Ag/NatRes = House
Agriculture & Natural Resources
GOAL POSITION ON BILLS
HB 1119 PENDING
HB 1191 SUPPORT
HB 1193 SUPPORT
HB 1245 SUPPORT
SB 5036 NEUTRAL
HEARINGS SCHEDULED:
SB 5036
|
Senate L&J
|
SHR 1. Jon A. Cherberg Building
|
19 Jan
|
1:30 p.m.
|
HB 1119
|
House Ag/NatRes
|
HHR John L. O'Brien Building
|
20 Jan
|
10:00 a.m.
|
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" or by telephone at
(425) 985-4867. 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.
If you believe you have received this e-mail in error,
please e-mail me at "jwaldron@halcyon.com"
with the words "Unsubscribe GOAL Post" in the subject line. I will remove your name immediately. Keep in mind GOAL Post is also published on
several gun lists. If you received GP
via a list, you must contact that list's admin to unsubscribe.
Upcoming WAC gun show(s):
Puyallup
17-18 January
Monroe
14-15 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 2015 Gun Owners Action League of WA
********
FROM: GOAL <goalwa@cox.net>
TO: undisclosed-recipients:
SENT: Sat 1/17/2015 4:43 AM
SUBJECT: GOAL Post Addenda 2015-2a
Legislative Update from Olympia
17 January 2015
- IVORY SALE/TRANSFER BAN
- HEARINGS SCHEDULED ON IVORY BAN
First, about SB 5036, by Sen. Steve O'Ban (R-28): SB 5036 would add a sentencing enhancement
(increase) if an individual were to wear body armor during the commission of a
felony. While not a gun bill per se,
many gun owners also own/use protective clothing. Like firearm sentencing enhancements, we
support them -- when applied to criminals intentionally committing crimes. But the potential exists for the law to be
applied in situations where it is not intended (2nd/subsequent violation of
I-594, for example).
HB 1131, by Rep. Eric Pettigrew (D-37) and companion bill SB
5241, by Sen. Steve Litzow (R-41) would prohibit the sale or transfer of any
product containing ivory from an elephant or mammoth or any product made from
ivory horn. There are limited exceptions
to such sale/transfer. Violation is a
felony.
Why is this appearing in GOAL Post? We're not aware of any market in rhinoceros
horn pistol grips, but how about ivory?
New ivory products have been prohibited by federal law for years, but
ivory grips made previously are still around, and popular with collectors. Also, "ivory" isn't necessarily
"ivory." Ivory comes from
several animals, not just elephants.
Wart hog and walrus tusks are common sources of ivory used in various
products. How is an arresting agent
going to know the difference?
Public hearings on both HB 1131 and SB 5241 will be held
next week. HB 1131 will be heard in
House Agriculture Natural Resources committee on Tuesday, 20 January at 10:00
a.m. in House Hearing Room "B."
SB 5241 will be heard in Senate Hearing Room "3" on Wednesday,
21 January at 1:30 p.m.
BILL STATUS:
Bill #
|
Subject
|
Prime sponsor
|
Status
|
HB 1131
|
Prohibits sale/purchase of ivory
|
Pettigrew (D-37)
|
H. Ag/NatRes
|
SB 5241
|
Prohibits sale/purchase of ivory
|
Litzow (R-41)
|
S. NatRes/Parks
|
HB = House Bill, SB = Senate Bill, H. Jud. = House
Judiciary, S. L&J = Senate Law & Justice, H. Ag/NatRes = House
Agriculture & Natural Resources, S. NatRes/Parks = Senate Natural Resources
and Parks
GOAL POSITION ON BILLS
HB 1131 OPPOSE
SB 5241 OPPOSE
HEARINGS SCHEDULED:
HB 1131
|
House Ag/NatRes
|
HHR "B", John L. O'Brien Building
|
20 Jan
|
10:00 a.m.
|
SB 5241
|
Senate NatRes
|
SHR "3", John A. Cherberg Building
|
21 Jan
|
1:30 p.m.
|
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
Copyright 2015 Gun Owners Action League of WA
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