GET THE WORD OUT: If you want to subscribe to the GOAL Post by e-mail, send a message 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 WITHOUT TEXTUAL MODIFICATION AND CREDIT IS GIVEN TO GOAL. I can be reached at "joewaldron@cox.net" 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.
First business first: a gun rights rally will be held on the Capitol Campus next Friday, January 18th,. The rally will be held on the north steps of the Legislative Building and will begin at 9 a.m., ending at 12 noon. The rally is sponsored by the Gun Rights Coalition. (Yes, it’s a Friday, and unlike the people bussed in to attend many liberal rallies, gunnies have to work. Are your gun rights worth a day off?) After the formal presentation, attendees are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the campus layout (the Capitol, or “legislative” building where floor sessions are conducted, as well as the John L. O’Brien House Office Building, the John A. Cherberg Senate Office Building, and the Irv Newhouse Senate Office Building. This is a great opportunity to locate your two representatives’ and one senator’s office and introduce yourself to their legislative aides. Hopefully over the coming session they’ll become familiar with your name and maybe even your face!
The legislature convenes on Monday, January 14th, for its “long” (105 day) session. This is the start of the 66th biennium, which will run through next year (2020). The primary focus of the long session is supposed to be preparation and passage of a two-year budget, but worry not – they’ll find plenty of time for gun control. If their work is not completed, they can be called back by the governor for any number of 30-day special sessions, as happened two years ago with THREE back-to-back special sessions.
Text of newly filed bills can be found at https://app.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/ Also on the bill information page are links to “New Introductions” (daily), and at the bottom, “Bills by topic” and “Bill Tracking.”
Pre-filing of bills for the new legislature begins in December, and there are already a handful of gun-related bills in the hopper.
A complete list of bills under consideration is included below in the “BILL STATUS” section. It also contains the bill’s prime sponsor, the current status of the bill (committee location) and the GOAL position on the bill. Committee abbreviations are provided at the bottom of that section. As this is written there are currently 12 gun bills available for consideration/action.
The following links can be used to contact legislators. Lists won’t be updated until new members are sworn in Monday):
http://www.leg.wa.gov/Senate/Senators/
http://www.leg.wa.gov/House/Representatives/
Legislative e-mail addresses are available at http://app.leg.wa.gov/MemberEmail/Default.aspx
The link contains a quick tutorial on providing testimony at public hearings on bills under consideration. I would urge you to read it and consider visiting Olympia to let YOUR voice be heard. http://leg.wa.gov/legislature/Pages/Testify.aspx
BILL STATUS/GOAL POSITION:
HB 1010 Disposition of forfeited firearms by WSP Senn (D-41) H.CR&J OPPOSE
HB 1022
HB 1024
HB 1068
HB 1038
HB 1073 Undetectable and/or untraceable firearms Valdez (D-46) H.CR&J OPPOSE
SB 5016 Authorizing armed animal control officers Van De Wege UnAsg SUPPORT
SB 5027 Extreme risk protection orders, under age 18 Frockt (D-46) S.L&J OPPOSE
SB 5050 Sentence enhancement for body armor use in a crime O’Ban (R-28) S.L&J NEUTRAL
SB 5061 Undetectable and untraceable firearms Dhingra (D-45) S.L&J OPPOSE
SB 5062
SB 5072