Washington legislators will be at it again, competing with California and others to become the most anti-gun, anti-sportsman state in the nation. Next Tuesday, January 17, both the state house and senate will consider several gun control measures that will crater firearms freedom and impact every sportsman in the state.
Below we have included a take action button for BOTH the house and senate hearings, please make sure you use BOTH to ensure your opposition to SB 5078, HB 1143, HB 1144, HB 1178, and HB 1240 is received by the respective committees.
The Senate Law & Justice Committee will hold a hearing on SB 5078, a bill that will cripple the firearm industry by instituting new policies and procedures that will make it nearly impossible to engage in the lawful sale and/or trade of firearms in the state. Even though nobody should expect lawful firearm manufacturers and firearm dealers to be responsible for crime, this bill does just that.
SB 5078 creates a special cause of action for individual victims to sue firearms manufacturers for the violent acts of third parties. This is bad policy motivated by those who simply want to destroy the sporting community because they know that if the industry cannot engage in lawful commerce, hunters and sport shooters cannot hunt and shoot.
Please use the take action button below to email the members of the Senate Law & Justice Committee urging them to oppose SB 5078.
On the House side, the Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on a series of gun control measures that will have far-reaching effects on our freedom and hunting heritage. These bills are nothing more than political grandstanding driven by emotion and the appearance of “doing something.”
HB 1178: Repeals statewide preemption. This bill will open the floodgates for localities to institute their own gun control legislation, leading to a patchwork of gun restrictions, and many local jurisdictions will go immediately to outright firearm and possession bans.
HB 1143 & HB 1144: Ten-Day Waiting Period for Firearm Transfers. These bills institute waiting periods for firearm transfers along with firearm safety training requirements, both of which have not been shown to promote public safety. Instead, these arbitrary waiting periods limit the actions of law-abiding citizens, including those who want a firearm for self-defense or for hunting.
HB 1240: Banning so-called “assault weapons.” This bill bans a provided list of rifles, including many that are utilized by millions of Americans for self-defense and hunting, and also goes the additional step of adding “features” of firearms that expand the list to hundreds more. These types of firearms bans have been shown by credible researchers to have zero impact on violent crime, but banning firearms and their use, whether for protection, hunting, or shooting, is the real motivation behind legislation of this type.
Please use the take action button below to email the members of the House Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee urging them to oppose HB 1143, HB 1144, HB 1178, and HB 1240.
Every law-abiding sportsman in Washington must oppose these anti-gun measures and ask for real solutions to violent crime that respect the individual freedom of law-abiding Washingtonians. Don’t forget to forward this email to your family, friends, and fellow sportsmen, urging them to take action and to sign-up for updates and join the Sportsmen’s Alliance for regular updates and action items.
About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.