Northwest Blogger get-together--UPDATE

FreeThinker, in a fit of despondency over not being able to attend Gun Blogger Rendezvous in Reno next weekend--I kid! I kid!--has decided to throw his/our own bash here in the Pacific Northwet.

NW Blogger Event
April 8-11 Seattle WA

There's gonna be shooting, dining, conversation, beverages, exploration and more...including the Underground Tour and the Big Walk to SPD to get outta towners CPL's (or at least ask nicely).

Preferred Lodging:

Moore Hotel
http://www.moorehotel.com/
1.206.448.4851
Toll Free
1.800.421.5508

ASK FOR BOB D.!!!

Local Rules:

Bar Carry: NO
Open Carry: YES
Fun Switch: NO
Cans: NO
Knives: 3.5" blade length limit. "Big No-No" does not apply to bars for knives.

Big No-No's: Secured portion of mental hospitals, jails, courtrooms (and often surrounding area), and that portion of any food service establishment (Yes, this includes taverns) from which persons under the age of 21 are barred.

Force of Signage: No legal penalty for entering a "not a Big No-No" area while carrying. If, however owner/lessee/authorized agent then requests you to leave and you decline to do so, you may be cited for trespass. Frosty politeness for the win. Icy derision for bonus points.

Evening Festivity Facilitation: For those not commissioned LE, there will be a vehicle w/ a secure trunk available for storage whilst folks go in to forbidden entertainment zones. If commissioned LE, do your research for compatibility with the local Idiocy Statutes.

Range space is still being looked into. Pistol Space is for sure (we have multiple options), rifle space is for maybe at this point. If folks express an interest in rifle/shotgun, more effort will be expended.

Limited space, so e-mail me before making plans. (originalgaycynic@gmail.com)

It's on our calendar, how about you?

UPDATE: Translation of  terms used in "local rules":

• Bar carry:  You may not be armed in an establishment that makes "most" of it's income selling booze.  Carry in a restaurant that serves alcohol, yes; carry in the bar of said restaurant, no.
• "Open Carry"=legality of carriage of an unconcealed handgun.  Unlike certain states to our south, not only is open carry legal, the pistol does not have to be unloaded.
• "Fun switch": No "Class III"--that is, fully automatic firearms--for private individuals in Washington State, except for a very few whose licenses were grandfathered.
• "Cans":  Suppressors, or silencers.  Oddly, under Washington State law, you may own a suppressor, but you may not use it.  (Which applies to law enforcement as well, by the way.)

Washington State does issue Concealed Pistol licenses to non-residents of Washington.  furthermore, it is not a "non-resident permit"; that is, it is the same permit, with the same requirements and fees, as a resident has to submit.  Basically, you pays your money, you submit your fingerprints, and after the specified period--probably before--they mail you your permit.  (WA Department of Licensing CPL Page.  Alien Firearms License.  Yes, Joe Canuck, Washington State will accord you rights your "Home and native land" will not.)

Basically, if you have a CPL, you can't carry in a bar, liquor store, on school grounds, or past security at the airport.  Any business may post "No carry", but they must post it clearly at every entrance--and there's debate as to whether writing it into the fine print of the membership rules for a warehouse club--"Kirkland Signature", anyone?--counts.  If you are "made", they can ask you to leave, but, as noted above, the charge for coming back armed (or at all, if they say "Don't come back") is misdemeanor trespass.

Sarah Brady once accused Washington of being "Gun Crazy."   It has been "Shall Issue" since the 1960s.  You may recall that a certain major upscale coffee chain made news by refusing to ban open carry in it's stores.   The Second Amendment Foundation--you know, Heller v DC, MacDonald v Chicago--is headquartered here.

Plus, there's a zillion and a half gun bloggers in  Washington, Idaho, and Oregon, and probably one or two in Alaska I haven't made the acquaintance of yet.  I just hope the hotel is big enough. 

This is going to be awesome.