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The Gunshot Not Heard Across Washington - (updated post from this AM)
With the click of a mouse, some data came to light that is waking up gun owners across Washington State. Effective July 1, 2019, Washington's FFLs (Federal Firearm Licensee) will no longer run NICS checks for residents with a Concealed Pistol License (CPL). That means, no same day delivery even with your CPL.
Last Tuesday we spent 3 hours with the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, the group tasked with enforcing a number of firearm related laws in Washington. They are also preparing the agencies they represent on how to deal with this change. They too, are concerned about this change. On Wednesday, we did an interview with Lars Larson about a change happening outside of Initiative 1639. Thursday, we confirmed the details of this by speaking with State Senator Lynda Wilson, who is a very pro 2A State Senator who sits on the State Senate Law and Justice Committee. She affirmed that the report is very real, and Ranking Senator Peterson has planned to address the change in a November work session of the L&J committee.
Here are basics. The FBI has a standard for concealed carry permits, if an individual has a permit issued by a state whose Conceal Carry Permit standard meets the FBI standard, the individual purchaser does not require a NICS background check under FEDERAL law. Washington state law does not align with Federal law, as it requires a specific background check for each transaction. The FBI has allowed Washington FFL dealers to do a "courtesy check" so a background check was completed to meet WA law and a pistol could be delivered. After that courtesy check, the FFL then sends each competed pistol transfer application to the local law enforcement. The local law enforcement agency, runs a check similar to the NICS check, but not identical. They complete a search of DSHS billing codes (looking for mental adjudications, involuntary mental holds), local court records, pending charges and restraining orders. This system has resulted in NICs being accessed twice for each pistol transfer, an "extra" burden on the FBI NICS system. So, the FBI said no more courtesy checks for Washington CPL holders, punting the responsibility back to Washington.
This change was programmed for October 2018, but the state asked for and received an extension to July 1, 2019. This change will require every handgun purchase be sent to local law enforcement for approval. So, no more cash and carry if you have a CPL.
The Law and Justice committee has a work group programmed for this later this month, however, with Initiative 1639 being voted on in this mid term election, the committee is waiting to see what happens before proceeding with discussing a resolution. As you already know, 1639 will require local law enforcement to conduct the background checks for all semi automatic rifles at the time of purchase, as well as all handguns. This measure will put a massive strain on the local law enforcement agencies and the state, as there is no system in place, no funding and no consistency statewide among agencies at this time. These changes will dramatically increase law enforcement agencies workloads, resulting in further delays to you, the law abiding citizens of Washington.
In Thurston county, we snail mail applications. In Pierce County, it's email. In Clark County, we fax them (about 10 times, as their fax machine is terrible). The City of Seattle, Vancouver, Spokane, Woodland and Bellingham all have different communication protocols and their responses are as varied as their submission requirements. Some better, some worse. I won't even get started on trying to identify which agency gets the application. Are you in the city limits or the county, does that city process approvals or does the county? How about the City of Woodland in Cowlitz county, but Clark County processes applications for that specific address? Did we mention inconsistency?
Washington residents have huge changes coming at them in the coming months. The State Senate Law and Justice Committee is run by a crew of anti-gun Democrats who introduced and PASSED 7 major gun control measures out of committee and approved through the Senate last session. Ultimately those measures failed, by only a couple votes in the State House. The November 6 mid term election will have more impact on gun control than Washington has ever seen. Washington must vote No on i-1639 and any candidate that supports additional gun control.
We must vote No on 1639 and send it into the dark ages. After that, we'll need to direct our energy at some pro-gun work in the legislature, so that at the very least, we restore the ability of FFLs to transfer handguns to CPL holders on the same day.
If you read the voters guide economic analysis, 1639 is just going to require a few data techs and some other costs which are unknown. 1639 is going to cost tens of millions of dollars at the state level, hiring personnel at DSHS, Washington State Patrol and Department of Licensing. There will be new databases and secure networks. These checks will be done on every person who has purchased anything, every year, for their rest of their lives. It will cost many tens of millions more across the Washington Law Enforcement Agencies to handle all the requests (and it's all unfunded). The real topper, these agencies are immune from liability if they choose not to approve an individual who is legal to possess. How long before the Seattle City Council votes to not approve sales to city residents? 1639 MUST BE CRUSHED.
With the click of a mouse, some data came to light that is waking up gun owners across Washington State. Effective July 1, 2019, Washington's FFLs (Federal Firearm Licensee) will no longer run NICS checks for residents with a Concealed Pistol License (CPL). That means, no same day delivery even with your CPL.
Last Tuesday we spent 3 hours with the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, the group tasked with enforcing a number of firearm related laws in Washington. They are also preparing the agencies they represent on how to deal with this change. They too, are concerned about this change. On Wednesday, we did an interview with Lars Larson about a change happening outside of Initiative 1639. Thursday, we confirmed the details of this by speaking with State Senator Lynda Wilson, who is a very pro 2A State Senator who sits on the State Senate Law and Justice Committee. She affirmed that the report is very real, and Ranking Senator Peterson has planned to address the change in a November work session of the L&J committee.
Here are basics. The FBI has a standard for concealed carry permits, if an individual has a permit issued by a state whose Conceal Carry Permit standard meets the FBI standard, the individual purchaser does not require a NICS background check under FEDERAL law. Washington state law does not align with Federal law, as it requires a specific background check for each transaction. The FBI has allowed Washington FFL dealers to do a "courtesy check" so a background check was completed to meet WA law and a pistol could be delivered. After that courtesy check, the FFL then sends each competed pistol transfer application to the local law enforcement. The local law enforcement agency, runs a check similar to the NICS check, but not identical. They complete a search of DSHS billing codes (looking for mental adjudications, involuntary mental holds), local court records, pending charges and restraining orders. This system has resulted in NICs being accessed twice for each pistol transfer, an "extra" burden on the FBI NICS system. So, the FBI said no more courtesy checks for Washington CPL holders, punting the responsibility back to Washington.
This change was programmed for October 2018, but the state asked for and received an extension to July 1, 2019. This change will require every handgun purchase be sent to local law enforcement for approval. So, no more cash and carry if you have a CPL.
The Law and Justice committee has a work group programmed for this later this month, however, with Initiative 1639 being voted on in this mid term election, the committee is waiting to see what happens before proceeding with discussing a resolution. As you already know, 1639 will require local law enforcement to conduct the background checks for all semi automatic rifles at the time of purchase, as well as all handguns. This measure will put a massive strain on the local law enforcement agencies and the state, as there is no system in place, no funding and no consistency statewide among agencies at this time. These changes will dramatically increase law enforcement agencies workloads, resulting in further delays to you, the law abiding citizens of Washington.
In Thurston county, we snail mail applications. In Pierce County, it's email. In Clark County, we fax them (about 10 times, as their fax machine is terrible). The City of Seattle, Vancouver, Spokane, Woodland and Bellingham all have different communication protocols and their responses are as varied as their submission requirements. Some better, some worse. I won't even get started on trying to identify which agency gets the application. Are you in the city limits or the county, does that city process approvals or does the county? How about the City of Woodland in Cowlitz county, but Clark County processes applications for that specific address? Did we mention inconsistency?
Washington residents have huge changes coming at them in the coming months. The State Senate Law and Justice Committee is run by a crew of anti-gun Democrats who introduced and PASSED 7 major gun control measures out of committee and approved through the Senate last session. Ultimately those measures failed, by only a couple votes in the State House. The November 6 mid term election will have more impact on gun control than Washington has ever seen. Washington must vote No on i-1639 and any candidate that supports additional gun control.
We must vote No on 1639 and send it into the dark ages. After that, we'll need to direct our energy at some pro-gun work in the legislature, so that at the very least, we restore the ability of FFLs to transfer handguns to CPL holders on the same day.
If you read the voters guide economic analysis, 1639 is just going to require a few data techs and some other costs which are unknown. 1639 is going to cost tens of millions of dollars at the state level, hiring personnel at DSHS, Washington State Patrol and Department of Licensing. There will be new databases and secure networks. These checks will be done on every person who has purchased anything, every year, for their rest of their lives. It will cost many tens of millions more across the Washington Law Enforcement Agencies to handle all the requests (and it's all unfunded). The real topper, these agencies are immune from liability if they choose not to approve an individual who is legal to possess. How long before the Seattle City Council votes to not approve sales to city residents? 1639 MUST BE CRUSHED.
For the record.....IMHO, paying $66 for an "enhanced DL" is not my idea of a fix.
