Meeting with Pedersen on SBR bill

[Ranb]

I met with Representative Pedersen (Judiciary Committee Chairman) this afternoon in Seattle for about 30 minutes. He said he will probably not schedule the SBR bill (HB 1561) for a hearing in January 2014 given the present conditions.

Presently HB 1561 has a Democrat (Blake) prime sponsor, 13 other Democrat co-sponsors, 18 Republican co-sponsors, 7 of 13 of the Judiciary members are co-sponsors and it enjoys the support of WACOPS. This is better support than the silencer bill had back in 2011. I am not aware of any support in the Senate for a SBR bill. What worked in 2011 for the silencer use bill is not going to work in 2014 for the SBR bill.

Pedersen will probably not give the SBR bill a hearing unless a companion bill is introduced and passed out of the Senate. There are a few reason for this, one is procedural (which I don't really understand), for some reason more bills start in the Senate and finish in the House; if I remember what Pedersen said. The other reason is the political climate that resulted in the defeat of all the gun bills in the 2013 session.

After discussing the reasons why WA residents and the police want SBR's, SBR crime rate and SBR sporting uses we talked a bit about the failed background check bill. I told him I thought it was nearly as flawed as I-594. Pedersen was the prime sponsor of HB1588 and claimed that he (as well as the House staff) was the author. We briefly discussed the bills flaws and he admitted it was a learning experience. Although we disagreed on some of the merits of the background bill, the fact he claims ownership of the bill makes him a much better person than the poor souls (Kline, Murray, Kohl-Welles) who will not admit authoring the last three AWB bills in WA that would have deprived gun owners of their fourth amendment rights.

For what it is worth I think Pedersen will give an SBR bill a hearing if it is passed in the Senate.

If we want SBR's it seems we need to get a bill introduced in the Senate. Pedersen recommended Hatfield as a good prime sponsor. Senator Mike Padden is the Senate Law and Justice Committee chairman (formerly the Judiciary), he would also be a good choice as a prime sponsor. My senator is Sheldon, he voted to ban SBS/SBR back in 1994 but says he is willing to vote for HB1561 if it reaches the Senate. Not exactly a ringing endorsement but it is a start. I am going to try to talk to him about a bill.

So who here can talk to their Senator face to face about a Senate SBR bill? I can accompany anyone to a meeting within 100 miles of Seattle if you need someone to go with you. We have less than five months to get the ball moving on a Senate SBR bill.

Randy
[email protected]
(360) 440-5889

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[8ball]

Randy, glad the meeting came together finally although the result wasn't what we wanted. Sorry I couldn't make the rescheduled time.

I doubt my senator would be much use but perhaps someone else here has a suggestion?

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

Thank you for getting out there and actually getting the ball rolling brother.

 

[Ranb]

I just got this e-mail from Senator Hatfield's office.

Dear Mr. Bragge,

In response to your request, Senator Hatfield is having this bill drafted for next January when the legislature reconvenes. The Senate bill will have the exact same language as that of House Bill 1561. It will most likely be referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee after it is introduced the first week of the 2014 Session. Hopefully, you can attend one of the public hearings to testify in favor of the bill, if your schedule permits.

Thank you for contacting Senator Hatfield.

Sincerely,

Vickie Winters, Legislative Assistant
for Senator Hatfield, 19th District
[email protected] 360.786.7636

The next step is to get co-sponsors. Now that we have (or will have) an actual bill, we can ask other Senators to jump on the bandwagon and get in on a good deal. When you guys write to your senators you can tell them that Senator Hatfield is sponsoring an SBR bill to complement HB1561 in the House. This is much better than asking for someone to prime sponsor a bill. We are over the first big hurdle.

The second hurdle is gathering additional co-sponsors, the third is convincing Senator Padden to schedule the bill for a hearing.

The thing about bills like the SBR and silencer bills is that even an anti-gun legislator can see that these firearms contribute little or nothing to the crime rates in WA. Supporting these pro-gun bills is something an anti-gun legislator can do and not really risk the ire of their anti-gun constituents since it affects only a tiny percentage of the population and keeps the contraband weapons illegal to possess by anyone. By supporting this bill they can attempt to show their pro-gun constituents that they are not rabidly anti-gun. It is a win-win for them.

Randy

 

[Ranb]

Even though we don't have an official senate SBR bill yet, if we hit them early they might get on board with Senator Hatfield and make it happen.

Here is a sample letter similar to the one I am going to send to every senator.

Senator xxxxxx,

I am writing to call your attention to a bill intended to ease restrictions on possession of short barreled rifles that will be introduced by Senator Hatfield during the 2014 session.

House Bill 1561 was introduced in 2011 (as HB2099) and has since gained broad bi-partisan support as well as support from WACOPS. This bill is likely to pass if Representative Pedersen schedules it for a hearing in the Judiciary Committee but this was not done during the 2013 session.

A short barreled rifle (SBR) is a rifle with a barrel less than sixteen inches in length or any firearm made from a rifle that is less than twenty-six inches long. Federal law strictly controls the possession of SBR's and requires that an individual obtain ATF authorization and pay a $200 tax prior to purchase. Violent crime associated with registered SBR's is extremely rare in the United States.

Until 1994 Washington State had no restrictions on SBR's. This changed when HB 2319-1994 was passed. Unregistered SBR's were declared contraband as they already were under federal law. Possession was restricted to licensed dealers, military and police while on duty and the few individuals who registered them prior to July 1994.

One of the bill authors, Representative Marlin Appelwick, claimed that these restrictions were put in place to reduce calls for major restrictions. Passage of HB 1561 would simply bring state law into line with federal law. It would allow police officers to purchase their own SBR for use as a duty firearm and allow them to train with it outside of duty hours. SBR's are also entirely suitable for use by sportsman including hunters and target shooters. They are just somewhat more compact than the typical rifle or carbine but can be just as accurate.

Do you have any objections to easing restrictions on SBR's? Would you be willing to co-sponsor the bill when it is introduced? Please let me know if you have any questions.

Respectfully,


Your name

Please do not directly copy the letter. Thanks.

House roll call vote for HB 1016 (silencer use bill)

HB 1016
Firearm noise suppressors
House vote on Final Passage
2/7/2011

Yeas: 88 Nays: 4 Absent: 0 Excused: 6

Voting Yea: Representatives Ahern, Alexander, Angel, Armstrong, Asay, Bailey, Billig, Blake, Buys, Carlyle, Chandler, Clibborn, Cody, Condotta, Crouse, Dahlquist, Dammeier, DeBolt, Dickerson, Dunshee, Fagan, Finn, Fitzgibbon, Frockt, Goodman, Green, Haigh, Haler, Hargrove, Harris, Hasegawa, Hinkle, Hope, Hunt, Hurst, Jacks, Jinkins, Johnson, Kagi, Kelley, Kenney, Kirby, Klippert, Kretz, Kristiansen, Ladenburg, Liias, Lytton, Maxwell, McCoy, McCune, Miloscia, Moeller, Morris, Moscoso, Nealey, Orcutt, Ormsby, Orwall, Overstreet, Parker, Pearson, Pedersen, Pettigrew, Probst, Reykdal, Rivers, Roberts, Rolfes, Ross, Ryu, Santos, Schmick, Seaquist, Sells, Shea, Short, Stanford, Sullivan, Takko, Taylor, Tharinger, Van De Wege, Walsh, Warnick, Wilcox, Zeiger, and Mr. Speaker
Voting Nay: Representatives Darneille, Hudgins, Hunter, and Springer
Absent:
Excused: Representatives Anderson, Appleton, Eddy, Rodne, Smith, and Upthegrove

Springer was a silencer bill co-sponsor, he says his no vote was a mistake.

Senate

HB 1016
Firearm noise suppressors
Senate vote on 3rd Reading & Final Passage
3/29/2011

Yeas: 47 Nays: 0 Absent: 0 Excused: 2

Voting Yea: Senators Baumgartner, Baxter, Becker, Benton, Brown, Carrell, Chase, Conway, Delvin, Eide, Ericksen, Fain, Fraser, Hargrove, Harper, Hatfield, Haugen, Hewitt, Hill, Hobbs, Holmquist Newbry, Honeyford, Kastama, Keiser, Kilmer, King, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Litzow, McAuliffe, Morton, Murray, Nelson, Parlette, Pflug, Prentice, Pridemore, Ranker, Regala, Roach, Rockefeller, Schoesler, Shin, Stevens, Swecker, Tom, and White
Voting Nay:
Absent:
Excused: Senators Sheldon and Zarelli

This separates the good guys from the bad guys. Thank the good guys when you all write.

Randy

 

[8ball]

Thanks Randy. Anyone else contacted their senator?

 

[Ranb]

I am talking to Senator Sheldon on the phone tomorrow. Since he has already agreed to vote for an SBR bill, I have to talk him into co-sponsoring it. I am also e-mailing every Senator. I am likely to receive a reply from only about 10%, those that do not reply are going to get a letter via the USPS. If they reply and refuse to support, then I will try to meet with them.

Here is the list of the Senator's e-mail addresses. <broken link removed>

It is lots more work to send out an e-mail to each Senator by name instead of one e-mail addressed to them all, but it is worth the time.

Randy

ETA;

Senator Ann Rivers (R) says she will co-sponsor the SBR bill.
Senator Benson says he will support the bill, maybe co-sponsor when he sees it submitted.
Senator Partlette says she will possibly support after she reads the bill.
Senator Sheldon has agreed to co-sponsor the bill. I talked to him on the phone and explained how simple the bill was. In 1994 he was one of those who voted for the 97 page bill that restricted them. This is how you change someone from anti-gun to pro-gun; as simple as a phone call!!!

 

[j4545]

Thank you for your hard work. I'm doing my best with my reps as well.

 

[Sturmhimmel]

Indeed this is great news that it's even gotten this far. I am contacting my rep now.

 

[papabear]

Thanks Randy for all that you've done!!! Any way to include sbs? They go hand in hand with sbr's. It's not as if we are asking for the moon, just including other calibers with reasonable home defense purposes.

 

[Ranb]

I talked to Senator Padden's aide this morning. He said that the Senator is considering sponsorship and scheduling the bill for a hearing for the 2014 session. If he gets much more encouragement it might change from considering to outright support.

SBS might be included later on if there is support.

Randy