GOAL Post 2014-5

(As usual, I have made minor formatting changes for readability, emphasis, or to match the normal  style of the blog. All links should be clickable.  DWD)

from: GOAL [goalwa@cox.net]
to: undisclosed-recipients:
subject: GOAL Post 2014-5
sent: Fri 2/7/2014 6:38 PM
Legislative Update from Olympia 7 February 2014

• POLICY COMMITTEE CUT-OFF PASSES; BILLS "DIE"
• A FEW BILLS MOVE
• NO ACTION ON INITIATIVES
• ASTERISK TO DENOTE STATUS CHANGE
• NEXT MAJOR CUT-OFF:  CHAMBER CUT-OFF 18 FEBRUARY
• GUN CONFISCATION IN CALIFORNIA

The first policy committee cut-off in the legislature was at close-of-business today.  At least theoretically, all bills that had not passed out of their original policy committee (for gun bills, mostly House Judiciary and Senate Law & Justice) are considered dead for the session.  Keep in mind that "dead" doesn't always mean dead if leadership wants to bring a bill back to life.  But barring unusual circumstances, once the cut-off passes, no further action will be taken on those bills.  Note the new "Bill Status" update in this GOAL Post.

This is the first opportunity to cull the list of bills under consideration.  As of tonight. most of the 46 bills and two initiatives we are tracking will die.  I'll carry the full list one more week, then cut it back to the small handful still in play for 2014.  But remember, no bill is really dead until the fat lady sings on 13 March (last day of the session).

 HB 2459 (hunter safety), and SBs 5956 (short-barreled rifles), 6025 (use of body armor in a crime), 6199 (use of incendiary ammunition and exploding targets) have moved from their original committees, along with SB 6245.  Position on SB 6245 changed to neutral; all it does is repeat existing procedure regarding surrender of CPL if convicted or committed.

Initiatives 591 and 594 remain in both the House Judiciary and Senate Law & Justice committees.  The initiatives are not subject to the cut-off calendars and may be acted on at any time.  The unofficial word is that the legislature will decline to act on either initiative, sending both to the voters in November.

I-591 needs the support and help from every gun owner in Washington.  Additional information about the initiative and a link to made donations is available at http://wagunrights.org/

One more format change -- an addition, actually.  I've added an asterisk in front of the bill number in Bill Status to identify a change in status during the reporting period, most commonly passage from a committee or chamber.  A quick scan down the list will alert readers to action taken on a bill.

The next major cut-off date, when bills still in play may die, is Tuesday, 18 February, when all bills must pass out of their original chamber (House bills out of the House, Senate bills out of the Senate). 

A few people have asked me about reference I made in Olympia to gun confiscation currently underway in California.  A short explanation is available from an NRA-ILA Daily Alert message several days back.  The report is available at http://www.nraila.org/legislation/state-legislation/2014/1/california-apps-protect-yourself-if-the-government-comes-for-your-guns.aspx 

The bottom line here is that while many people who support various gun control schemes do so with the honest intent of reducing "gun violence," the ultimate goal of the leadership of that movement is the abolition of the private ownership of firearms.  Any time you hear the term "background checks" being used, think "gun registration," which is a necessary first step to any effective gun confiscation program.  We have offered ways of conducting background checks without record retention; they have been rejected.  It's not about background checks.  20 years ago California did away with "private transfers" of guns, and required all transfers to go through licensed dealers.  It is those lists they are now using to confiscate guns from newly-identified prohibited persons.

BILL STATUS/GOAL POSITION:

The following bills remain under consideration in the 2014 session:

Bill #	Subject	Sponsor	Status	GOAL Position
HB 1096	Juvi illegal firearm possession	Hurst (D-31)	Died H. Jud	CONCERNS
HB 1147	1st degree juvi unlawful possess.	Goodman (D-45)	Died H. Jud	CONCERNS
HB 1184	Range protection	Takko (D-19)	Died H. Jud	SUPPORT
HB 1318	CPL renewal notice	Taylor (R-15)	Died H. Jud	SUPPORT
HB 1371	WA Firearms Freedom Act	Taylor (R-15)	Died H. Jud	SUPPORT
HB 1561	Short barreled rifles	Blake (D-19)	Died H. Jud	SUPPORT
SHB 1588	Background checks	Pedersen (D-43)	Died H. Jud	OPPOSE
HB 1676	Mandatory safe storage	Kagi (D-32)	Died H. Jud	OPPOSE
HB 1703	Gun "safety" training and tax	Jinkins (D-27)	Died H. Jud	OPPOSE
HB 1729	Street gangs	Warnick (R-13)	Died H. Jud	SUPPORT
HB 1788	Firearms/school employees	Pike (R-18)	Died H. Jud	SUPPORT
SHB 1839	Background checks	Goodman (D-45)	Died H. Jud	SUPPORT
HB 1840	Firearms/restraining orders	Goodman (D-45)	H. Rules	OPPOSE
HB 1908	Firearms on school property	Scott (R-39)	Died H. Jud	SUPPORT
HB 2020	Firearms-related jobs	Shea (R-4)	H. Died Jud	SUPPORT
HB 2164	Juvenile firearm possession	Orwall (D-33)	Died H. Rules	SUPPORT
HB 2324	Use of force	Shea (R-4)	Died H, Jud	SUPPORT
*  HB 2459	Hunter safety	Blake (D-19)	H. Aprop	SUPPORT
HB 2475	Short barreled rifles/shotguns	Overstreet (R-42)	Died H. Jud	SUPPORT
HB 2502	Delivery to peace officers	Klippert (R-8)	Died H. Jud	SUPPORT
HB 2529	Sales tax exemption on firearms	Overstreet (R-42)	H. Finance	SUPPORT
HB 2551	Declared state of emergency	Overstreet (R-42)	Died H. Jud	SUPPORT
HB 2664	Defense against animals	Taylor (R-15)	Died H. Jud	SUPPORT
SB 5376	Juvi illegal firearm possession	Kline (D-37)	S. W&M	CONCERNS
SSB 5452	Stalking protection orders	Conway (D-29)	S. Rules	CONCERNS
SB 5478	Firearms/mental health court	Keiser (D-33)	Died S. L&J	CONCERNS
SB 5479	Safekeeping of firearms	Keiser (D-33)	Died S. L&J	OPPOSE
SB 5485	Mandatory safe storage	Kline (D-37)	S. Died L&J	OPPOSE
SB 5604	NRA license plates	Hatfield (D-19)	Died S. Trans	NEUTRAL
SB 5625	Background checks	Kline (D-37)	Died S. L&J	OPPOSE
SB 5635	Restoration of firearm rights	Darneille (D-27)	Died S. L&J	OPPOSE
SB 5660	Firearm safety education	Chase (D-32)	Died S. K-12	SUPPORT
SB 5710	Mandatory safe storage	Kohl-Welles (D-46)	Died S. L&J	OPPOSE
SB 5711	Background checks	Kline (D-37)	Died S. L&J	OPPOSE
SB 5737	Ban on sale of "assault weapons"	Murray (D-43)	Died S. L&J	OPPOSE
SB 5739	Ban on guns in parks	Murray (D-43)	Died S. L&J	OPPOSE
SB 5831	Prohibits double tax on clay pigeons	Rivers (R-18)	S. Rules	SUPPORT
* SB 5956	Short-barreled rifles	Hatfield (D-19)	S. Rules	SUPPORT
* SB 6025	Use of body armor	O’Ban (R-28)	S. Rules	NEUTRAL
SB 6039	Hunter safety	Pearson (R-39)	S. W&M	SUPPORT
SB 6066	Restoration of rights	Honeyford (R-15)	Died S. L&J	SUPPORT
SB 6198	Range protection	Roach (R-31)	S. Died L&J	SUPPORT
* SB 6199	Wildfires/incendiary devices	Braun (R-20)	S. Rules	SUPPORT
* SB 6245	Surrender of CPL	Dansel (R-7)	S. Rules	NEUTRAL
SB 6281	Improving hunter ed	Roach (R-31)	S. Rules	SUPPORT
SB 6416	Delivery to peace officers	Hatfield (D-19)	Died S. L&J	SUPPORT
I-591	Protect gun rights		H. Jud/S. L&J	SUPPORT
I-594	Universal background checks/registration		H. Jud/S. L&J	OPPOSE

Key to abbreviations: S. = Senate, H. = House, Ag/NatRes = Agriculture/Natural Resources, Fin = Finance, Jud = Judiciary, K-12 = Education, L&J = Law & Justice, NatRes = Natural Resources & Parks, Trans = Transportation, W&M = Ways and Means * = status change

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 You can also use the direct link available on each bill's web page to contact your legislators by clicking on "Comment on this bill."

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" or to "goalwa@cox.net.". 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.

Upcoming WAC gun show(s):
Monroe 15-16 February
Puyallup 22-23 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 2014 Gun Owners Action League of WA