FROM: GOAL [goalwa@cox.net]
TO: undisclosed-recipients:
SENT: Fri 4/19/2013 7:27 PM
SUBJECT: GOAL Post 2013-14
Legislative Update from Olympia 19
April 2013
·
HAPPY PATRIOTS DAY!
·
BILLS MOVE, BILLS DIE
·
GOAL POST DELAYED NEXT WEEK
·
GUN CONTROL FAILS IN U.S. SENATE -- THIS TIME
·
OBAMA VOWS TO CONTINUE THE FIGHT
·
SEATTLE ANTI-GUN GROUP THREATENS INITIATIVE --
NEXT YEAR
·
GRASSROOTS TRAINING EVENT 30 APRIL
On a cool spring morning just outside Boston 238 years ago
today, events were set in motion that would literally change the world. Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson best summed it up in
his Concord Hymn, the first stanza of which reads:
By the
rude bridge that arched the flood.
Their
flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here
once the embattled farmers stood,
And
fired the shot heard 'round the world.
Written nearly a century after the incident, it's
understandable that Emerson got a few of the details wrong. It wasn't at the Old North Bridge in Concord
that the first shot of the American Revolution was fired, it was six miles away
in Lexington, along the road from Boston to Concord, where British (government)
troops first encountered armed colonists.
The troops' mission was to seize stores of gunpowder and shot believed
to be held in Concord. But their first
run-in came at tiny Lexington, where militiamen of the local "minute
company" (militiamen ready to
respond on a minute's notice) stood guard on the village green. The British commander reportedly ordered them
to "Disperse, damn ye, ye rebels."
A single shot rang out, followed by a ragged volley. The train was set in motion, motion that
didn't end until 1783 and the Treaty of Paris.
That first lone shot was probably fired by a nervous
militiaman with his finger on the trigger (in violation of basic firearm safety
rules), facing what was at the time the world's best army. I would have been nervous, too. But it serves as a reminder that little
events can trigger(!) bigger things and lead us to something no one could have
imagined on that sleepy April morning.
As the remainder of this GOAL Post will show, this is the
time to keep one's finger off of the trigger and keep using that pen, keyboard
or cellphone to tickle our elected representatives and remind them of their
duty.
The legislature is winding down its 2013 regular
session. The second chamber cut-off
(House bills out of the Senate, Senate bills out of the House) was two days
ago, and now it's clean-up on the budget and either concurrence votes or
conference committees on bills that were amended in the opposite chamber.
HBs 1383 and 1612 and SB 5282 passed the Senate and House
respectively, with amendments. HB 1612
and SB 5282 await a concurrence vote in the chamber of origin or a
conference. Then on to the Governor if
concurrence is given. The House
concurred in the Senate changes to HB 1383 and that bill is on its way to the
Governor. (Basically, the other side has
to agree on the changes made before a bill can go to the Governor.)
HB 1840 and SB 5452 appear to have died without a respective
Senate and House floor vote, as did SB 5865.
Given the historical number of gun bills filed in January,
good and bad, we approach the end of the session with almost no forward motion
for any of the bills. Three passed out
of 30+ filed. Given hostile control of
the House, that's a plus in my estimation, although you don't win wars fighting
defense.
The legislative session ends on Sunday, 28 April. Rather than distribute a GOAL Post next
Friday night, followed by a wrap-up a few days later, I'll just hold off of
sending it out until Monday. At that
point the fat lady will have sung, the gavel will have come down, and there
will be no surprises.
The big news of the week is the action (or inaction) on S.
649 ("Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act"), Majority Leader Harry
Reid's flagship background check/gun trafficking/school safety bill on the
floor of the U.S. Senate. A total of
nine amendments were voted on for S. 649.
Seven of the nine failed, including the Manchin-Toomey
compromise background check substitute, the Grassley background check
substitute, and amendments to ban assault weapons (Feinstein) and ban magazines
(Lautenberg), along with pro-gun amendments to mandate nationwide recognition
of CPLs and to ensure veterans receive due process before they are stripped of
their gun rights. Under the rules of the
Senate, it took 60 votes to pass an amendment.
Most of the amendments offered fell 2-6 votes short of passage. Encouraging was the fact that the amendment
that fared the worst was Dianne Feinstein's assault weapon ban, receiving only
40 votes. One Republican (Mark Kirk of
Illinois) voted FOR the Feinstein amendment, 15 Democrats voted against it (of
course Washington's two Senatrixes, Murray and Cantwell voted anti-gun every
time). About 5-6 Senate Democrats, mostly
from western, southern or rural states, sides with Republicans to defeat the
gun control amendments.
Two amendments did pass Thursday, one that would cut some
federal law enforcement grant money to any state that releases sensitive or
confidential information on gun owners, and the second to fund additional
mental health programs.
Later on Thursday Reid pulled S. 649 from further
consideration, likely killing the bill... for the present. He has promised to bring it back to the floor
when he has the votes to pass it. The
Wednesday/Thursday votes were just one battle; the war continues.
President Obama held a televised temper tantrum shortly
after Wednesday's votes on S. 649, calling the NRA's characterization of some
of the bill's amendments "lies."
He vowed to continue pressure to promote his gun control agenda, through
the use of executive orders where he could (an executive order cannot directly
go against a vote of Congress). Hell
hath no fury like a president scorned....
Other gun control fanatics, such as Vice President Joe
Biden, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
and others, also lost it in their public criticism of the votes on S. 649. Like the President, all vowed to do whatever
it takes to attain their agenda. There
are reports of an advertising campaign planned in the states whose Democrat
Senators voted on our side, to pressure the Senators to change their votes.
The newest Seattle-based gun control group, the
"Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility." is also making
vows: to run some form of gun control
initiative NEXT year. Look for the usual
Seattleite fat-cats to pour money into the program, just as they did in
1997. This time around, don't be
surprised if Mayor Bloomberg kicks in a few million -- he just threw 12 million
for broadcast advertising in selected states to push S. 649. The mayor is a billionaire with money to
burn.
The discussion to date has been on background checks, but it
wouldn't surprise me to see them overreach and throw in a few extra items from
the gun grabbers' wish list. And that
will work to our advantage. The more
trash they put in there, the easier it is to pick apart and defeat.
The Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation, the Citizens
Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and the Gun Owners Action League
are joining with the Leadership Institute to conduct a grassroots training
program at the Pierce County Library in Tacoma on Tuesday, 30 April. The evening event will focus on several
topics to include the legislative process, persuasive communications,
traditional citizen (grassroots) lobbying and "new generation
lobbying" -- employing social media and other new methods of
outreach.
Cost to attend is $10 and additional information may be
obtained from Phil Watson, Special Projects Director at the Second Amendment
Foundation, (425) 454-7012. You may also
register directly at https://www.leadershipinstitute.org/Training/register.cfm?ID=22877
The following firearm-related bills remain under
consideration in the 2013 session
Bill #
|
Subject
|
Sponsor
|
Status
|
SHB 1383
|
Stalking protection orders
|
Goodman (D-45)
|
To Governor
|
SHB 1612
|
Firearm offender registry
|
Hope (R-44)
|
Passed Senate
|
SHB 1840
|
Firearms/restraining orders
|
Goodman (D-45)
|
Died S. Rules
|
SSB 5282
|
DSHS/WSP info exchange
|
Carrell (R-28)
|
Passed House
|
SSB 5452
|
Stalking protection orders
|
Conway (D-29)
|
Died H.Rules
|
SB 5865
|
Use tax exemption for non-profits
|
Roach (R-31)
|
Died S. Rules
|
Key to abbreviations:
SB = Senate Bill, HB = House Bill, Jud = Judiciary, L&J = Law &
Justice, HS&C = Human Services & Corrections, Trans = Transportation,
Approp = Appropriations, Early Learn = Early Learning and K-12 Education,
W&M = Ways & Means
GOAL POSITION ON BILLS
HB 1383 NEUTRAL
HB 1612 CONCERNS
SB 5282 SUPPORT
HEARING(S) 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" 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
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Upcoming WAC gun show(s):
·
Puyallup 27-28 April
·
Monroe 4-5 May
"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 2013 Gun Owners Action League of WA
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