Thread: Senator Kline's reply to my e-mail on silencer use.

I sent Senator Kline an e-mail requesting that he allow bill 1604 to get a hearing in committee if it ever passes the House. He sent me one of the most insulting e-mails I have ever received from a Senator. It said in part;

that once these things get into legal commerce, they become more common, and finally find there way into the gun-shows.

At those gun-shows, they can effectively be sold to anyone, including those with felony records, since the rule at gun shows is "No Questions Asked."

The federal law, the Brady Act, allows informal sales to go without a records-check. From that point on, the devices (and guns generally) flow into the criminal underworld, unreported and in unknown quantities.

As he should know, commerce in silencers is already legal, even when use is banned in WA. They are not legal to sell at gun shows unless ATF approval is obtained. I'm sure he has no evidence to support his claim that they go from gun shows to the underworld.

I wrote to Senator Sheldon asking him to straighten Mr. Kline out a bit. Since he is not one of those who replies to e-mails very much, I am not expecting a reply.

I know some of the people here have written to Kline in the past. What did he say? Did he try to blow you off with his "silencers are illegal" crap? How did you reply? Has anyone been able to maintain any ongoing correspondence with him? Thanks.

Ranb

I have sat in on 2 public hearings where he was either chairing the committe or was a member. He makes up his mind and then can't be swayed by facts. I will see if I still have his responce to a ORV bill he put together cuz his neighbors where driving their quads down the ally behind his house.

Our efforts are best put into getting people like him un-elected. Find out who is running against him and work hard to support them.

That's crazy Ranb.

Kline was first elected to the 37th district (Cap Hill, Rainier Beach and Renton) in 1997, and his only challenger for 2010 withdrew recently. In 2006, he got 90% of the vote, so waiting for someone new is out of the question.

I did found this choice quote on the Stranger in a hit piece on him:

"He is considered a very ineffective legislator," says one former legislator who watches state politics closely. Kline's notoriously bad temper has alienated fellow Democrats and renders him incapable of striking deals with conservatives around the state, the former legislator says.

According to several current legislators and nonprofit leaders who have worked with Kline on legislation, his committee meetings routinely disintegrate into chaos, with senators talking and sometimes yelling over one another. Routinely, they say, Kline holds hearings on bills without first notifying stakeholders.

He is definitely the wrong guy to have as chairman of the Judiciary committee. I wonder how he keeps that seat. Is he voted in by the Senate each year or is it hereditary? / (

Ranb

The 37th... Capital Hill, Rainier Beach and Renton. What a lovely area. I can't think of a nicer place in Washington to vacation short of possibly Hilltop in Tacoma. Kline is a product of his district. Might as well give him a for life appointment.

You are lucky he was passingly polite, if ignorant, to you. I had to communicate with him in the past on legislation in another area. He became verbally abusive and profane to me for having simply advocated a different approach (topic was tort reform).

He's a terrible legislator and a poor human being on top of it. How he gets re-elected is baffling. Any Democrat with 1/2 a brain could defeat him easily; doesn't have to be a Republican.

You are lucky he was passingly polite, if ignorant, to you.

Thanks. But I do not think he was showing ignorance. There was a silencer bill in the Senate years ago. He knows what he is saying is false.

Ranb

What is his email address?
Do you mind posting the entire email (yours + his full reply)?

His email is Kline.Adam@leg.wa.gov . I do not post e-mails and other personal messages in full unless I have permission from the sender. I did not ask permission from Mr. Kline to post his email on the net and since he is unlikely to respond to my last email to him, he is unlikely to grant permission.

My email to Kline was as follows;

Senator Kline,

I have been told that House bill 1604 will be re-introduced next session and may get out of committee to be voted on in the House. If this bill makes it to the Senate will it have a hearing in the Judiciary committee, or die like it has the last few years in the House?

As you know sound suppressors are legal at the federal level and in most states. It is also extremely rare that they are used in violent crime. Washington State is the only state that allows civilians to own them, but that also prohibits their use. When properly used they can prevent hearing loss and reduce noise pollution.

Will you allow this bill to get a hearing? Do you have any objections to suppressor use?

Please let me know if you have any objections to your constituents using sound suppressors. I would also like to know what action you intend to take should this bill reach the Senate. Thank you for your time.

Respectfully,

Ranb

You can find anyone in Olympia from these links http://access.wa.gov/ http://access.wa.gov/government/index.aspx http://access.wa.gov/government/state_legislature.aspx

Ranb

I have sent him an e-mail in the past on a engine displacment tax we wanted to impose. I explained how me and my SAR unit use our big 4x4 to recover Police and Fire units from ditches, and transport Doctors and Nurses to the hospitals on snow days out of our own pocket and the his displacment tax would shut down volunteer SAR units like mine. He never even responded. I should have asked if his Pruis would get a fully loaded fire truck out of a snowy ditch in Capitol Forest.

Senator Kline is a complete nutjob. I've had dealings with him regarding ORV use and he is a militant ignoramus. I wouldn't waste my time with him.... lost cause.

We'd all be better served if he just stepped in front of a bus.

Without Kline on board, we will never be able to use silencers legally in WA. Or do you have any better ideas? Even the ranking minority Judiciary member refuses to do anything about Kline because he is a coward.

Ranb

Why bother. The only people that use silencers are the Mafia, and only for hits.

Seriously, we need to think of a reason the liberalize the use of silencers. Or even Maybe so the birds don't get scared when those poor helpless gang bangers shoot up Capitol Hill. Or something like that.

Maybe proposing a law that allows us to use them but makes the penalty for using them in a crime horribly severe would work.

Originally Posted by LibertyorDeath

Maybe proposing a law that allows us to use them but makes the penalty for using them in a crime horribly severe would work.

Will not matter. The feds already have a 25 to life sentence for using them in violent crimes.

Ranb

Originally Posted by Ranb

Will not matter. The feds already have a 25 to life sentence for using them in violent crimes.

Ranb

Feds are feds, states are states. It could certainly matter for a lot of reps - a provision like that in a silencer bill may well be the "spoonful of sugar that makes the medicine go down" for reps concerned about a backlash from anti-gun voters.


If you haven't done this yet, sitting down and brainstorming about your strategy with an experienced lobbyist would be a very good investment of time (and likely money).

Originally Posted by ZachS

If you haven't done this yet, sitting down and brainstorming about your strategy with an experienced lobbyist would be a very good investment of time (and likely money).

Know any lobbyists? The only I know is one of the WAC officers and he declined to get involved. This is a symptom of why this law is still on the books. Hardly any gun owners actually care enough to even write a letter or let their Representatives blow them off.

Ranb

Originally Posted by Ranb

Know any lobbyists? The only I know is one of the WAC officers and he declined to get involved. This is a symptom of why this law is still on the books. Hardly any gun owners actually care enough to even write a letter or let their Representatives blow them off.

Ranb

A few names came up when I googled "Olympia lobbying firm," but if I were you I'd call around to some other conservative organizations besides WAC and see who they use/recommend. Lots of folks do it for a living...

Thanks.

Kline is the @sshat who tried to introduce the Weapons Ban last year and got his butt kicked by Pam Roach and her supporters.

See the bill info here and the folks who supported it: So called assault weapons ban proposed in WA - SB-6396

Pam Roach is who you want on your side for this......Sen. Pam Roach, R-Auburn, said she is mobilizing with other lawmakers against the bill. Since it was announced, her office has received more than 1,000 e-mails asking the Senate to defeat it, Roach said. "We're going to do everything we can to make sure (Kline) doesn't diminish the Second Amendment right," she said.
Local News | Assault weapons ban likely to fail | Seattle Times Newspaper