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The excellent posts by skjos (quoted below) gave me this idea. How about if we all adapt the letter below, send it to our Reps and Senators, and ask for a written opinion from the AG's office on 594? Only the legislature can ask for these, but they are usually quite extensive (see <broken link removed> )

I am sending it to Sen Litzow with the following cover letter.

Dear Senator Litzow

We corresponded back in January about 594 and background checks on gun transfers, which is now on the ballot for November.

I've yet to see a cogent description of exactly what 594 entails, given that it covers transfers, and not just sales of firearms. I watched the recent Seattle Times debate with the bill sponsors and Dan Satterberg (see http://blogs.seattletimes.com/opini...debate-about-gun-initiatives-i-591-and-i-594/), and alarmingly even the bill supporters were unable to clarify some of these scenarios, and what exactly constitutes a legal transfer versus a felony.

As a firearm owner who will be be impacted by 594, I respectfully request as my local member of the state legislature that you ask the Attorney General for a written opinion on 594 and some of the following common scenarios, before we are asked to vote on it this November.

Thanks,

8ball

If I-594 passes would these actions make me a felon or at least get me hit with a gross misdemeanor?:

While fishing for halibut off the coast of Washington in my buddy's boat, he hooks a 40lb halibut and brings it to the side of the boat; I grab his .410 shotgun and humanely dispatch the fish. Am I a felon?

While out hunting, I trade hunting rifles with my buddy, and we split up to cover more ground. He gets back to camp sooner than I do and decides to run to the store to get more supplies. To keep the rifle secure he takes it with him in the pickup. Because he left the legal hunting area with my loaned rifle am I a felon?

While out hiking in the Northeast corner of the state with my girlfriend, I bring along a .44 revolver as protection from bears and wolves. After setting up the tent, I leave the pistol with her as I climb a nearby peak. Am I a felon?

While out camping with my buddies in the national forest I bring along some plinker pistols and a couple of rifles to target shoot with. I let my friends target shoot using my guns. Would we all go to jail for life, because this would be multiple transfers with each felony stacking on top of the other?

At a rural (non-gov authorized range), the person at the bench next to me has a hunting optic that I'm thinking about buying for my rifle. I ask him how he likes it, and he invites me to take a look though the scope. I shoulder the rifle to look through the optic, but do not fire it. Did I just take a temporary transfer from him? Am I a felon?

My dad has an old rifle (not an antique) that he would like me to disassemble and refinish the stock; he brings the rifle to my house and leaves it with me to get it looking pretty again. He did not gift me the rifle, am I a felon?

My girlfriend stores her expensive jewelry in my gun safe, to get to the jewelry box she has to open the safe and move one of my pistols out of the way. Does the move of the pistol constitute a transfer of possession? Am I a felon?

Every month I take my shotgun to a rural field on private property and bring along my son for skeet shooting; he just turned 18, am I a felon if I take him again?

A hunting partner of mine comes to my house to plan a hunting trip in the Spokane area, he is going to drive there with an RV and I am going to fly over a few days later, and he will pick me up at the airport. I give him my rifle to bring with him so I don't have to go through the hassle of having to fly over with it. Is this legal?

I am selling a rifle to another person, the future owner wants to have the rifle inspected by a gunsmith prior to completing the transaction, can I give the rifle to the gunsmith (he is not performing any service or repair of the firearm, just an inspection)?

A friend is being deployed overseas for a tour in Afghanistan; he would like me to store his firearms in my safe during his deployment. Is this legal?

My brother lost his job and needs some money, he would like me to loan him some money using his firearm as collateral. He intends for me to return the firearm when he pays me back the amount of money I loaned him, is this legal?
 
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I've yet to see a cogent description of exactly what 594 entails, given that it covers transfers, and not just sales of firearms. I watched the recent Seattle Times debate with the bill sponsors and Dan Satterberg (see http://blogs.seattletimes.com/opini...debate-about-gun-initiatives-i-591-and-i-594/), and alarmingly even the bill supporters were unable to clarify some of these scenarios, and what exactly constitutes a legal transfer versus a felony.


You've just defined one of the biggest problems with the initiative. Nobody can explain what it precisely says. if something is that fouled up that NOBODY can explain what it means, including its sponsors, that's a pretty good sign there is something definitely wrong with it.

I think it's a bad idea to ask the AG's office for an opinion, as Ferguson isn't exactly a friend of gun owners.

I don't think he'll offer an opinion prior to the election anyway.
 
I think it's a bad idea to ask the AG's office for an opinion, as Ferguson isn't exactly a friend of gun owners.

I don't think he'll offer an opinion prior to the election anyway.

If the opinion comes back showing 594 really does suck as bad as we think it does, then that's good ammo for our side in the election.

If the opinion comes back showing 594 really doesn't cover any of these scenarios we are worrying about, then at least we'll have that to fall back on if it does pass.

If no opinion comes back, no problem. Apart from the AG being a slacker. o_O
 
An AG opinion can't give us any more ammo than we currently have. One of the arguments we currently have is that it is confusing and subject to varying opinions as to what certain parts mean. That is in our favor right now. It really isn't that unclear for the most part though. It is just confusing because of all of the exceptions and shear length. The definition of transfer is pretty clear and the exceptions detailed. Quite often what they tell us is technically accurate as well but very deceptive. For instance there is an exception for hunting and one for giving gifts to immediate family. This is deceptive though because the exceptions are very narrow with unrealistic requirements. We should be and are using that to our advantage.
 
Let's not. Evidently, you've forgotten who the AG is. It's not Rob McKenna. It's Bob Ferguson, Democrat, who danced around the firearms issue when he was running with the standard "I support the Second Amendment...."
 
The AG is not going to give an opinion on a bill or initiative. I think in this case we'll need to get an opinion on it if it passes. We also need to ask for specific opinions; not "what does this whole thing mean". If 594 passes I plan on asking my Senator to ask the AG a few things. I am hoping the AG defines what "while hunting" means or if simply holding a friend's gun or shooting it for a few minutes is a temporary transfer.

Randy
 

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