Billionaire-backed Evergreen State gun control proponents have announced their 2024 legislative wish list, and it’s already getting attention from Second Amendment activists who are rolling up their sleeves for a fight.
The Legislature convenes Jan. 8 for a 60-day election year session.
After restrictions kicked in Jan. 1, including a new 10-day waiting period on all gun sales plus a requirement to prove buyers have completed a firearm safety course during the past five years, anti-gunners, including Democrats in the state House and Senate, are already demonstrating they have a hunger for more. Gun owners’ rights are on the menu.
As reported previously by Ammoland, anti-gun House Democrats have already filed legislation to do the bidding of the Seattle-based Alliance for Gun Responsibility. They have introduced legislation requiring a permit-to-purchase firearms, but there is more. Here’s the list:
- RESTORE LOCAL AUTHORITY: (Repeal state preemption) Local leaders are best positioned to address their communities’ challenges. They should be empowered to make decisions about gun safety to keep their communities safe and build on the work that happens at the State Legislature by ending local preemption of firearm regulations. Gun violence prevention can—and should—happen at every level of government. House Bill 1178 (held over from last year)
- RESTRICTING BULK FIREARM PURCHASES: (One gun per month) Limiting the number of firearms an individual can purchase at a given time is a straightforward approach to prevent gun trafficking. House Bill 2054.
- REPORT LOST AND STOLEN FIREARMS: Gun thefts often result in firearms being channeled into an underground market, where they can easily fall into the hands of those intent on causing harm. Washington State must require gun owners to report guns that have been lost or stolen to law enforcement, helping to prevent illegal gun trafficking. House Bill 1903
- DEALER RESPONSIBILITY: We must continue to hold the gun industry accountable by establishing responsible standards of care for firearms dealers operating in Washington State. Making safeguards explicit ensures that dealers are taking reasonable precautions regarding safe storage, preventing straw purchases, and maintaining accurate records. This responsibility is crucial in ensuring that firearms are sold and managed in a manner that prioritizes public safety.
More than 40 states have preemption laws, and maybe half of them were patterned after Washington’s law, which was adopted first in 1983 and reinforced in 1985. Anti-gunners have wanted to erase this since it was adopted.
Washington Democrats evidently haven’t paid much attention to what has happened in neighboring Oregon, where the permit-to-purchase was part of Measure 114, which was declared unconstitutional last fall by an Oregon circuit judge. There are federal lawsuits challenging the measure as well, currently on appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
Constitutionality doesn’t appear to mean much to Evergreen State Democrats, however. As observed by activist Aaron Lyons on the Washington 2024 Legislative Action Group’s Facebook Page, “They don’t care they want us disarmed, they don’t want anyone else or future generations acquiring firearms.”
By some estimates, there may be in excess of 1.5 million gun owners in Washington. According to the State Department of Licensing, 2023 ended with more than 693,000 active concealed pistol licenses. The challenge has always been in getting these people to all vote in the actual election. Apparently, too many of them equate complaining or declaring “come and take them” on Facebook with actually filling out a ballot and mailing it in.
Conservative voters in Washington despise mail-in ballots, contending that it is far too easy to cheat (voter fraud) with voting by mail. They far prefer in-person voting and the requirement for voter identification.
It is likely the toll-free Legislative Hotline will be burning up this session. That number is 800-562-6000, and it is easy to use. Call and leave a message for your state senator and/or representative, and that message gets delivered to the lawmaker. Washingtonians also will be sending personal email messages to their state representatives, whose email addresses are found on their individual web pages: House, Senate.
Ammoland has previously reported the dismal failure of Washington gun control laws, which were never designed to punish criminals but penalize honest citizens. As in other states, gun control in Washington state has amounted to choking restrictions on both the Second Amendment and Article I, Section 24 of the state constitution, camouflaged with empty promises and producing no tangible results. And the homicide numbers have gone up, not down. Seattle ended the year with 73 homicides, according to Seattle Homicide (not connected to the Seattle Police Department).
About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
