The Great Barrington Declaration

Great Barrington Declaration - As infectious disease epidemiologists and public health scientists we have grave concerns about the damaging physical and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies, and recommend an approach we call Focused Protection.

Elections -- The Good, The Bad...

Today is the Presidential Primary in Washington State

The Good: Washington is 100% Paper Ballot.¹

The Bad: Washington is 100%¹ mail-in ballot, which degrades the integrity and security of paper ballots.

Neutral: In a Presidential Primary only the Democratic and Republican candidates appear.

The Ugly: Washington requires you to declare which party you're voting for²...

The Loathsome: ...on the outside of the mailing envelope. (Check a box and sign it, on the outside for all the world to see.)

1. It is possible to request an account to vote electronically. I have no idea how many have availed themselves of this.
2. We are not registered as members of that party, simply declaring on the primary ballot who we're voting for. 

Now, the Republican Party of Washington is fine with doing away with the declaration, and failing with their attempt to eliminate it, to make it a private thing.

The Democratic Party of Washington refused -- and the Democrats have solid control of Olympia.

The Secretary of State announced she would not be voting "due to privacy concerns."

And, since the ballots are printed with the list of candidates the party designates in early January or February, it may well be inaccurate by March. In the case of the Democratic roster this year, it still included all those candidates no one ever heard of, as well as the three who are still in the race.

Three? Why, yes, Hawaii's Tusli Gabbard has not dropped out yet. (Unless I missed a very recent development.)

And yet, all the DNC Mandarins and the Mainstream Media (but I repeat myself) are wailing because of the sexism which resulted in Elizabeth "Fauxcahontas" Warren, who couldn't even win her own home state, dropping out.

Do they hate Tulsi because she's young? Because she's a veteran? Because she's a Pacific Islander...?

GOAL Post 2020-8 is up

GOAL Post 2020-8, Legislative Update from Olympia 28 February 2020 - Gun Owners Action League of Washington

I haven't been posting these, since they are now regularly posted to that web site, and let's face it, I haven't been posting much at all.

Legislative season is almost over, although with the clown show Olympia has become it is no longer accurate to suggest that our money or freedom are safe if the legislature is not in session. We're talking about a state where the state tried to sue the voters for an initiative we passed, after all.

Berthold Brecht would have been right at home here.

Anyway. It sounds like most of the bills are dead, although, as Joe points out, these clowns are always willing to pull a Miracle Max on bills that should have died...

Plus there's always the possibility that Steyer and Bloomberg will finance another corrupt initiative to back an even worse law.

One good bill remains, that would remove the restriction on spring-assisted knives. I have a lot of respect for the late Glenn Ford, Capt. USNR (RET), but The Blackboard Jungle resulted in silly restrictions on knives you can open with one hand, which sounds like a minor inconvenience until you need both hands to do a job, and a third to access the tool you need to do it. ("No shit, there I was, 30 feet up a ladder...")

The majority of the rest of the remaining gun-related bills should die in a fire.

WA - Repeal I-1639!

A petition is being circulated to put Ballot Initiative 1094 on the next ballot.

Ballot Initiative 1094 ("The People's Defense of the Second Amendment Act of 2020") would have the effect of repealing I-1639, that mish-mash of social justice virtue signalling and feel-good measures that make life ore difficult for the law-abiding, while doing nothing about crime, that was passed despite blatant illegal and unethical behavior.

Just another election in Seattle, in other words.

The text of I-1094 is here. (Opens as a .pdf.)

The website Washington State Gun Control has links to lists of "where to sign", in both map and spreadsheet format.

I walked over to my Friendly Local Gun Store, which is listed, and they said they were waiting on a fresh batch; the owner showed me a stack of completed petitions, and commented that they had been cautioned to only hand them to someone who is known to them as a representative of the organizers, as "the opposition" is known to have sent folks out to pick them up with promises to turn them in, although what they would turn them into, is another question.

Compost, no doubt.

I made the comment that it might be worthwhile to check ID, and preferably voters registration cards, of those signing: Given the shenanigans the backers of I-1639 got up to, it would not surprise me if they were to steal completed petitions, or send people out to deliberately make false entries, hoping to get them tossed out.I had my own voter's registration card out as I walked in, to make sure I put my address on the petition exactly as the state has it, to make sure my signature wouldn't be tossed out.

Recently, we had a rather egregious example of the kind of bull shit the left in this state gets up to: Olympia regularly ignores the wishes of the people, and passes various and sundry rate increases over our vote. It costs an absurd amount to register your vehicle in this state -- two hundred dollars or more to register a fairly new car in King County, most of which goes to the "Regional Transit Authority", to subsidize mass transit.

We keep passing initiatives to limit the cost of car tabs to $30, and they keep imposing these surtaxes.

A new initiative passed.

King County announced it was going to sue to have the initiative tossed out.

Apparently they feel subsidized bus rides are a Constitutional Right.

Meanwhile, in Olympia...

Washington lawmakers are done this year. Here’s what they passed — and didn’t — in 2019 | NW News Network

This list is far from complete.

Leaves out egregious gun control, and many tax increases.

Stay Tuned...

GOAL Post 2019-15

Joe sent out the latest GOAL Post last night, and reported that his ISP is acting up again/still, and since the report is still not on the web site, I'll go ahead and post it here. Usual rules, minor editing for formatting for the blog, not textual changes.

FWIW, here is my thought about a Special Session, mentioned by Joe: The Democrats in Olympia, as in Seattle, are unhappy that the state constitution prohibits an income tax being levied by either the state or a municipality. They are trying their hardest to impose at least a "millionaire tax" or pretending that a capital gains tax would not be a fancy name for a tax on income. 

It should be noted that it has been reported that there's a budget surplus right now, and they have no actual plan to use the money they want to try and wring out of the people of Washington State, but they still think our income is rightfully theirs. 

So if there's a special session, I think that the focus will be trying to get more blood from the turnip.

In other news, I received media credentials for the NRA Annual Meeting, so I guess I'd better practice pretending how to be all journalistic and stuff. Better yet, I'll ask questions and report what I see, instead of staying in the bar and making it up...

***

FROM: GOAL-WA <goalwa@cox.net>

TO: undisclosed recipients

SENT: Fri 4/19/2019 5:35 PM

SUBJECT: GOAL Post 2019-15

Legislative Update from Olympia 19 April 2019

• RALLY FOR YOUR RIGHTS
• BILLS PASS, ONE DIES
• CONCURRENCE VOTES
• ONE MORE WEEK
• SPECIAL SESSION LOOMS
• BUMP STOCK WARNING
• LATE DISSEMINATION
• ON THE ROAD

A pro-gun “Rally for your Rights” will be held on the Capitol Campus on Saturday, 27 March at 12 noon.  A little late in the session, but still an opportunity to show your support. It IS on a Saturday. Try to make it and show them the gun lobby is not a paper tiger...

Several bills passed by the end of the second chamber cut-off on Wednesday evening. 

House Bills 1465 (handgun delivery), 1739 (undetectable/untraceable firearms), 1786 (firearms/protective orders) and 1934 (military online/mail CPL renewal) all passed out of the Senate.  HB 1934 was rushed off to Governor Inslee for his signature.  The remainder await a concurrence vote or conference committee action because they were amended in the second chamber.  It’s not over yet!

Senate Bill 5782 (assisted-opening knives) died on the House floor without a vote.  What a surprise!

The Senate has concurred in House amendments to HBs 5027 (Extreme risk protection orders, under 18), 5181 (firearms/mental health) and 5205 (firearms/incompetence for trial).  All three are on their way to the governor.

There is one week left for the House and Senate to review difference between passed versions of the bills and kick them to the governor – or they die for the session.  That doesn’t mean they won’t be back next year… or in a week or two in a special session.  The regular legislative session ends at midnight on Sunday, 28 April.

It appears the Democrats who control the House and the Democrats who control the Senate can’t agree on how much to raise taxes for the biennium.  This means it is likely we will enter one or more 30-day special sessions until they get it sorted out.  Apparently there is no honor among thieves.  As the saying goes, neither you life nor your wallet are safe as long as the legislature is in session.

An individual with what appears to be a fictitious name, “Yati Arguna,” has sent a Public Records Act request to the State Patrol asking for the names and addresses of everyone who turned in a bump stock for cash compensation.  That’s about 1,000 individuals.  Unless a judge blocks the release (reasonable as a public safety measure), state law requires the names be released.  Who is behind this and where or how the information will be used remains to be seen.  Should one assume that anyone who turned in a bump stock has a Modern Sporting Rifle in their home?

I will likely hold off on posting next week’s GOAL Post until Sunday night (when I’ll be flying back from the NRA annual meeting in Indianapolis) or Monday, when we know for sure what passed and what died.  Recognize that in the event of a special session ALL BILLS from the previous regular session come alive again and may be considered, voted on, and passed. 

The week after I’m off for Europe – allegedly.  I’ll be flying on an airline family pass, so it’s “space available” and any movement will depend on empty seats available AND my (very low) seniority number.  I sent my wife to visit family ten days ago, and now I have to go bring her back.  This living alone (not entirely alone, I have a Lab, but she doesn’t talk) isn’t all it’s cracked up to be when you’ve had a wife to spoil you for 50+ years now!

Should a special session be called, it is my intention to continue GOAL Post… all dependent on information being available to me wherever I am.  Historically they don’t use special sessions to drag back gun bills, so unless there’s a major gun incident, we should be safe.  Operative word “should.”

BILL STATUS/GOAL POSITION:

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

Alabama

Expanded upon from elsewhere, because, as Tamara likes to say, why waste it at an away game?

I'm laughing at all the people acting like Roy Moore was the GOP-anointed candidate for Alabama's Senator.

They clearly paid no attention to this race until last week.

I have spent little time in Alabama, too little to parse these events from the POV of a resident of The Heart of Dixie, but I have some thoughts on what this means, (some supplied or inspired by others):

• The US Senate is now 51 (R) 49 (D). 
• Since Harry Reid introduced "The Nuclear Option", this means less than it might.
• Long will be a two-year Senator. Alabama is still the reddest of states
• The Ds cannot, now, accuse the Rs of harboring a pedophile. (Whether you believe those claims about Moore or not.) I expect Franken will be out in the coming days, not weeks.
• Steve Bannon's influence is much diminished, if not completely eliminated. He owns this.
• I've been seeing items to the effect that Mike Pence, not Donald Trump, is the head of the GOP. 
• Normally, the sitting president is considered the head of the party, but Obama had little or no interest (or was an even bigger SCOAMF than we thought) and Trump has little or no influence over the GOP, being an outsider. (Arguably, being an outsider is what got him elected.) 
• So the question is, can Mike Pence take the bull by the horns elephant by the tusks and force them into a coherent, effective strategy?
• The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution should be repealed. 
• Ironically, it was implemented in Alabama before it became national...
• Any suggestion that the mainstream media is even remotely impartial and unbiased should be met with derision and howls of laughter, followed by "...oh, wait. You're serious. Maybe you should get that looked at." 
• (Addendum)  Part of the objection to Roy Moore seems to be that he was removed from the bench for allowing his religious convictions to interfere with his judicial decisions.
• If Judicial activism is wrong for Conservative Christians, it is wrong for Progressive... Progressives. 
• Granted if it wasn't for double standards the left would have no standards at all.
• Time for a revival of A Man For All Seasons, perhaps. (I prefer the Charlton Heston version, for esthetic reasons. The Scoville version is probably more likely to get a hearing these days, though...)

I have no great love for Trump, but he is still a vast improvement over either Sanders or (shudder!) Clinton.

I have even less love for Roy Moore. His emails go directly to my spam folder, where they belong.

I don't know if his personal politics go over well in Alabama these days, but I do know they do not play well on the national stage. (FWIW, I noted that while in Alabama this past September on my way to Florida for a date with Irma, I saw only one sign for Judge Moore, and that was handmade.)

I'm not sure the fact that he has (or had) a habit of dating women young enough to be his daughters matters; I note that the "evidence" of his one alleged relationship with an underage woman is, to say the least, dubious. (And is now admitted to have been altered. Anyone who actually used the term "pedophile" should probably be leery of lawsuits, just sayin'...)

I do know that this election in and of itself is not a great victory for the left, and hardly spells the death knell for the right. There are aspects of this election, however, that could be symptoms of just what is wrong with politics in the USA.

I am glad I live in a country where we can hash these things out in public without resorting to wholesale violence.

So far.

Two White House Petitions

National Reciprocity for the Nation's 17 Million Concealed Handgun Permit Holders! | We the People: Your Voice in Our Government

Right now at 8,901, and

Needs 91,909 signatures by August 17, 2017 to get a response from the White House

Also: Repeal the NFA | We the People: Your Voice in Our Government

267,451 signed. At this point, no idea whether it had enough signatures by the deadline, which was in February, to get any attention.

 

Of course, the SHARE act, if passed, will gut NFA '34 anyway.

 

As has been par for the course since this WhiteHouse.Gov petition thing has started, many or most of the things listed are silly, pointless, puerile, hyper-partisan. 

The Afghan Girls Robotics team was allowed to come to the USA to compete, but the petitions (two, at least) are still there.
Charlie Gard and his parents re coming to America in hopes that an experimental treatment will work. (Either way, see the National Health Death Panel in action! See the Americans give the National Health Death Panel the finger!)
"Make Trump take a MENSA-monitered IQ test"? smh

And so it begins...

A White House.gov petition to Repeal the National Firearms Act of 1934.

h/t Dr. Mike Brown

Also: Repeal the 1986 Hughes amendment | We the People: Your Voice in Our Government

Down with the urban imperialists!

Instapundit » Blog Archive » SHOULD DENSE URBAN AREAS “force their will” on entire states?

“All of us who live in coastal Washington—Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative—have more in common with each other, economically, than we have with people living on Mercer Island or Queen Anne Hill. Urban voters know it. And they’re eating our lunch, in terms of development and growth.”

This is an OpEd from a local newspaper in Aberdeen, WA.

I live a helluvalot closer to Seattle -- and Olympia -- than Aberdeen -- hell I'm in the middle of the Seattle/Olympia urban sprawl! -- but I concur.

I want to subscribe to Mr. Walsh's newsletter.

As I alluded to in my previous post, our legiscritters in Olympia don't seem to give a damn what the voters want or think. This has been going on for years. We've passed several initiatives requiring a two-thirds majority to raise taxes, for example, but they keep finding ways to ignore them.

As I mentioned in a post the other day, we voted overwhelmingly against tax funding for commercial sports stadiums in Seattle, but somehow we wound up funding one or two. (Even while the old un-paid for Kingdome turned out to be pretty damned sturdy, and a larger challenge for the demolitions crew than expected...)

Daniel Hannan and Nigel Farage can complain, justifiably, that the European Overgovernment is made up of a faceless, unaccountable appointed bureaucracy that is answerable only to itself, like our own massive Executive Branch apparatus.

But our own "elected" officials increasingly meet that description.

GOAL Post 2015-1

FROM: GOAL goalwa@cox.net (Joe Waldron)
TO: undisclosed-recipients:
SUBJECT: GOAL Post 2015-1

Legislative Update from Olympia 9 January 2015

• "RALLY FOR YOUR RIGHTS" IN OLY
• LEGISLATURE CONVENES MONDAY, 12 JANUARY
• SPLIT CONTROL CONTINUES
• LEGISLATIVE TUTORIAL
• LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR
• PRE-FILED FIREARMS BILLS
• LEGISLATOR DIRECT CONTACT INFORMATION

Mark your calendar!  On Thursday, 15 January, a pro-gun rally, the Rally for Your Rights, will be held on the Capitol Campus in Olympia.  The rally is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., with presentations by leaders in the gun rights movement and several legislators, followed by a visit to your legislators' offices.  This is your opportunity to speak directly with your elected officials.  Contact information will be available at the rally.  Sponsoring organizations include the Washington Arms Collectors, Washington State Rifle & Pistol Association, Gun Owners Action League of WA, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Second Amendment Foundation, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, and others. 

The 64th Washington state legislature convenes Monday, January 12th for its long (105 day) session.  The principal focus of the long legislative session is supposed to be the biennial budget, but rest assured several other topics, including firearms, will receive attention. 

Control of the legislature remains split, with Democrats in charge of the House (51 Democrats to 47 Republicans), and Republicans continuing the Majority Coalition in the Senate, with 26 Majority Coalition members (25 Republicans and one Democrat) versus 23 Democrats.  We can also count on a handful of pro-gun House Democrats siding with gun owners on legislation of interest. 

For those new to legislative affairs, here’s how the process works:  When a bill is filed in the House or Senate (or both, simultaneously, called “companion bills”) it is assigned to a policy committee.  Most gun-related bills go to the Senate Law & Justice Committee in  the Senate.  In the House it’s a little more complicated, as it may be sent to House Judiciary or House Public Safety (most will go to Judiciary).  Public hearings may be held, after which the bill may (or may not) be voted out of committee.  If the bill has a fiscal impact (usually an expenditure of more than $50,000), it must then go to Senate Ways & Means or one of a couple of House fiscal committees.  The bill then goes to the Senate or House Rules Committee, where it must be voted on to pass out to the floor for a full vote. 

After a bill passes the Senate or House, it then goes over to the opposite chamber (House or Senate), where the whole process starts over again.  If the bill passes the second chamber in the same form it passed the first, it goes to the governor for signature (or veto or partial veto).  If changes are made in the second chamber, it goes back to the first for concurrence.  It may also go to a conference committee from both chambers to resolve differences.  The final version must pass both chambers. 

The bill then goes to the Governor, who may sign it into law, veto (kill) the bill, or sign a partial veto (killing just selected section(s) of the bill).  The governor may also allow a bill to become law without his signature.  Most signed bills take effect on 1 July, although bills with an “emergency clause” (considered immediately necessary for public safety) take effect upon signature by the governor.

One of the first items of business in each session is the adoption of the session calendar, identifying dates by which bills must clear various hurdles.  A bill that fails to clear the policy committee or chamber floor by the designated date is generally considered dead for the year, although they may be “resurrected” by parliamentary procedure.  I’ll post the cut-off dates for the 2015 session in the next issue of GOAL Post.

Bills from the last session are dead.  New bills must be filed for consideration by the 64th Legislature, with new bill numbers.  At this time no firearm-related bills have been pre-filed.

The Legislature has not yet published new telephone and office directories because legislators are not sworn in until Monday, 12 January.  The following links can be used at that time to identify direct contact information:

http://www.leg.wa.gov/Senate/Senators/
http://www.leg.wa.gov/House/Representatives/

Legislative e-mail addresses will be available at http://app.leg.wa.gov/MemberEmail/Default.aspx

Your elected legislators and their contact information is available by inserting your residence zip code at http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx

Yet another Internet Gun Control Poll

At PBS, no less, and it seems to be fairly straightforward.

Poll: Would you support more restrictive gun laws in your state?

1. Yes. Increased regulations on firearms are necessary to prevent another tragedy like the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary.  
2. No. Laws like this unnecessarily punish lawful gun owners and will do little to prevent mass shootings. 
3. Unsure. It's important to keep the weapons out of the wrong hands, but this may not be the solution.   

Obviously, vote only once. 'Cuz Ghu knows, the progressive statists will never, ever cheat on any kind of voting...

More on Initiatives 591 (YAY!) and 594 (BOO!)

A round-up, of sorts, in a tab-clearing type of day at the Washington Arms Collectors' web site:
First, the new TV ad for 591:

One big question locally, that, as discussed at the above link, has even been mentioned in the local media, is why has the National Rifle Association been pretty much AWOL, or at best phoning it in, on this.

Is it because they figure the Second Amendment Foundation and Washington Arms Collectors, and their associated and affiiliated organizations, have it covered?
Is it because they figure Washington State is doomed, and aren't wasting money on us? 
Or is it because they hate the Second Amendment Foundation and Alan Gottlieb and are willing to sacrifice the Evergreen State just to see their bete noir go down in flames?

I really, really hope it's number 1.

There's a TV ad out there in favor of I-594, that almost caused me to go Full Elvis on the boob toob last weekend, in which some bimbo claimed that "background checks are a simple solution to gun violence."
 Where to start?

• "Universal background checks" are clearly ineffective, witness the crimes committed by people who pass one. (And I'm not just talking here about the NICS check to buy a gun, I'm talking about, for example, police officers or others in positions of trust who pass a background check and commit a crime.) 
• This monstrosity requires a background check on any transfer of a firearm.
•  These checks mandated by I-594 would require that I conduct a background check on any adult I lend a gun to, including simply swapping pistols at the range ("Hey, is that a Crunchenticker Loudenbooomer 9...?") And then he would have to conduct a background check on me before handing it back. 
• Similarly, showing off the contents of the gun safe to a visitor, handing a "spare" to a hunting buddy because his gun broke, etc. 
• And, since each and every one of these required background checks is reported to the Washington State Department of Licensing, it will, in fact, be a de facto state firearms registry. 
• And no one knows what it will cost.
• There's an exemption for age, but only if the parent is present during the time when the minor is holding a gun. 
• There's an exemption for training, but only if the training is held at a "licensed club", and if the gun is kept at the club. 

And then there's this lovely fact:

• Failing to conduct a background check  for any transfer will be a Class C Felony.
• Like Rape.

I just don't know if I'll be able to resist the urge to spit in the face of the next jackass that tries to tell me the gun banning statists don't want to take away my guns...

Previous post: Why does the "1%" like this idea?

Oppose I-594: WA Citizens Against Regulatory Excess

I've mentioned Ballot Initiative 591 a couple of times.  It is a very short (one page!  Unheard of!) that adds two lines to the Section 9.41 of the Revised Code of Washington:

• It is unlawful for any government agency to confiscate guns or other firearms from citizens without due process.
• It is unlawful for any government agency to require background checks on the recipient of a firearm unless a uniform national standard is required.

Support I-591: Protect Our Gun Rights.

GOAL Post 2014-10

This should be the final GOAL Post until the next Legislative Session, but that does not preclude the publication of GOAL Alerts or Action Notices.
As usual I have made minor formatting changes to fit the blog, and a few for emphasis. 
This is a long one, includes all the bills from this session, so hit the page break for the full read.

FROM: GOAL [goalwa@cox.net] (Joe Waldron)
TO: undisclosed-recipients:
SUBJECT: GOAL Post 2014-10

Legislative Update from Olympia 14 March 2014

• IT'S OVER!  LEGISLATURE ADJOURNS
• RECORD NUMBER OF BILLS FILED, FEW SURVIVE
• COMPLETE BIENNIUM LIST OF BILLS INCLUDED
• BEWARE STEREOTYPES REGARDING PRO- OR ANTI-GUN POLITICIANS
• INITIATIVE WARS TO COMMENCE
• ELECTION EIGHT MONTHS AWAY
• GOAL POST WEEKLY PUBLICATION ENDS... FOR NOW

 The regular 2014 legislative session ended late Thursday, 13 March, as required by the state constitution.  Although a record number of firearm-related bills were filed during the biennium, no major  pro- or anti-gun legislation passed over the two year period.  One clear pro-gun bill passed, albeit of limited impact to those individuals who are willing to pay a $200 federal transfer tax to acquire a short barreled rifle:  SB 5956 (Hatfield, D-19),  That bills is on Governor Inslee's desk, awaiting his signature... or his veto.  A third option would be to let the bill become law without his signature (Washington's chief executive does not have a "pocket veto" capability).  The supplemental budget bill passed -- a second session must-have, so no special session is on tap at this time.  Unless a special session is called, all of the bills filed but not passed in 2013-2014 are dead.

A record (in my 21 years of lobbying) 51 firearm-related bills were filed during the 2013/2014 biennium.  Three passed in 2013 and were signed by the governor, four more bills passed this year and are awaiting the governor's signature (HBs 1840 and 2164, SBs 5956 and 6199).

This week SB 6025 (use of body armor during the commission of a felony) was sent back to House Appropriations, where it died.  The House concurred in the Senate amendment to HB 2164 (counseling for juveniles with firearm convictions/adjudications) and the bill was sent to the governor.  The Senate concurred in the House amendment to SB 6199 (prohibiting the use of incendiary targets during wildfire season) and that went to the governor as well.

As the session ended, we have four bills awaiting Governor Inslee's action:  HB 1840, HB 2164, SB 5956 and SB 6199.  I expect he will sign at least three.  The one big question mark is SB 5956 (short barreled rifles).

I have rolled ALL of the bills filed back into the "Bill Status" section, with their final status.  Most died at various stages of the process.. 

I think it's important to remind readers that while in general, Republicans support gun owners and Democrats oppose us.  But generalities only go so far.  There are significant exceptions to that observation.  In this biennium we had seven pro-gun bills introduced by Democrats.  But it should also be noted that only two of those bills passed the legislature.  Having a Democrat sponsor doesn't give the bill an automatic pass.  There are a handful of Democrats in the legislature, who come from suburban or rural districts, who are committed to protecting and advancing the rights of gun owners, usually in opposition to their caucus mates.  Without their support -- and vocal opposition to anti-gun bills while inside caucus meetings -- the outcome would be far different.  At election time we need to support these individuals.  More on these Democrats as election time nears.

Neither chamber took any action on either of the gun initiatives (I-591 and I-594) sent by petition to the legislature.  Given this is an election year, the lack of action is no surprise.  Let the electorate decide!  In no way is this the end, it's only the beginning of the battle.  Without doubt you will see advertising on both initiatives, pro and con.  It's going to be interesting to see how much cash the Seattle elite gang supporting I-594 are willing to throw into the fight.  The pro-gun side, Protect Our Gun Rights, will likely have a much more limited budget. 

What all that means is that a greater part of the FOR 591/AGAINST 594 will fall on the shoulders of every gun owner in Washington.  I guarantee the other side will portray I-594 as a simple background check bill with no greater impact.  After all, if you have nothing to hide, why should you fear a background check?

HINT:  IT'S NOT ABOUT BACKGROUND CHECKS.  Ignore the de-facto tax imposed on ALL firearm transfers, via the FFL's processing fee ($25-50 in most cases) and the extended waiting period of up to 30 days in the event of a "delay" response (most "delays" eventually pass, just a question of ensuring the "John Smith" attempting to buy the gun isn't the "John Smith" with a long criminal record). 

As a background check proponent testified in Olympia in 2007, it's not about background checks, it's about an "audit trail on guns."  That's REGISTRATION.  Under current law, universal background checks would immediately result in the registration of ALL handgun transfers.  For long guns, it amounts to decentralized gun registration -- law enforcement would have to query FFLs to determine who bought/transferred what.  Universal GUN REGISTRATION has been gun grabbers goal for decades.  Why?  Because no effective GUN CONFISCATION program can be effective without prior registration.  Just ask the gun owners of New York City and California, and happening now in Connecticut.

2014 is mid-term election year.  All 98 House members and 24 of 49 Senators are up for reelection (or election of new candidates) in November.  Action this week in the 30th Legislative District as Senator Tracey Eide (D-Federal Way) announced her retirement, and former Democrat Representative Mark Miloscia (D-Federal) announced his intention to run for the Senate seat... as a Republican.  This is not without precedent.  After the 1994 Republican revolution, two Democrat House members switched parties to become Republicans, and several years later  Republican switch sides to become a Democrat.  Over the coming months I expect we'll see more retirements announced, and several new faces when candidate filing begins in mid-May.  I expect to see more retirement announcements before the May filing deadline.  More on election activity in future GOAL Updates.

This will be the last of the GOAL Post weekly updates from Olympia.  Barring a special session, GOAL Posts will not resume until the next regular session of the legislature in January 2015.  I will continue to publish GOAL Updates throughout the year, probably on a monthly basis, as events develop in Washington and elsewhere in the U.S.

BILL STATUS/GOAL POSITION:

GOAL Post 2014-9

In my previous post I speculated that Joe would have something to say about SB5956 returning from the dead.  I was right.  As usual, I have made minor formatting changes for the blog, but the post is otherwise as Joe sends it out.

FROM: GOAL [goalwa@cox.net]
TO: undisclosed-recipients:
SENT: Fri 3/7/2014 6:52 PM
SUBJECT: GOAL Post 2014-9
Legislative Update from Olympia 7 March 2014

• SECOND CHAMBER CUT-OFF
• LIFE AFTER DEATH
• CONCURRENCE OR CONFERENCE COMMITTEE?
• LAST WEEK

The second chamber cut-off passed at 5 p.m. this afternoon.  Bills that had not passed out of the second chamber are theoretically dead for the session (see the next item).  It appears SB 6025 (body-armor) died, while four total bills passed out of the House and Senate (two each).  Two are on their way to Governor Inslee, two are headed for a concurrence vote or conference committee (see below). 

Last week I reported that SB 5956 (short-barreled rifles) had died in Committee.  But as I noted earlier, dead doesn't mean dead.  In an unusual move, yesterday the entire House voted to pull the bill away from the House Judiciary Committee and brought to the floor, where it was voted 95-3.  The bill now goes to Governor Inslee for his signature... or veto.   Congressman Inslee had a dismal record on guns.  Now we'll see what Governor Inslee does.  The bill passed with only three dissenting votes out of 147, so it obviously had strong support -- and a veto-proof majority.

If a bill is amended in the second chamber before passing out (House bill in the Senate or Senate bill in the House), it has to go back to the originating chamber for a concurrence vote on the amended bill.  If they concur, the bill goes to the governor.  If the original chamber does not concur, it is sent to a conference committee (made up of Senators and Representatives) where they will try to reach compromise language.  If a compromise is adopted, it goes back to both chambers for an up or down vote. 

Two of the bills still under consideration passed their second chamber in amended form, and now await concurrence/conference.  These bills are marked "con" in the Bill Status section.

Next week is the final week of the regular session.  Per the state constitution, the fat lady will sing some time Thursday evening, and the legislators will go home, hopefully until next January.  The supplemental budget was passed, so at this point it does not appear a special session will be necessary.  But it's a long time until January 2015!

I'll be publishing at least one more GOAL Post for the session, a wrap-up.  With both I-591 and I-594 going to the electorate in November, I'm sure I'll be posting additional GOAL Updates for the remainder of the year, probably bi-monthly or monthly.  This is an election year, so GOAL will also be posting a list of candidates we are supporting.. or opposing.


BILL STATUS/GOAL POSITION:

The following bills remain under consideration in the 2014 session:

Bill #	Subject	Sponsor	Status	GOAL Position
*HB 1840	Firearms/restraining orders	Goodman (D-45)	Passed, To Gov.	NEUTRAL
*HB 2164	Juvenile firearm possession	Orwall (D-33)	Passed, Con	SUPPORT
*SB 5956	Short-barreled rifles	Hatfield (D-19)	Passed, To Gov	SUPPORT
*SB 6025	Use of body armor	O’Ban (R-28)	Died H. Aprop	NEUTRAL
*SB 6199	Wildfires/incendiary devices	Braun (R-20)	Passed   Con	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,  HS&C = Human Services & Corrections, Jud = Judiciary, L&J = Law & Justice, , W&M = Ways and Means

* = status change this past week  

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):

• Puyallup                22-23 March
• Monroe                  5-6 April

"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