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https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/wa-voters-have-spoken-keep-up-momentum-on-gun-laws/

By The Seattle Times editorial board

The past four years have seen a sea change in Washington's gun laws, such that we are now ranked as one of the Top 10 states for responsible gun control. That's a stunning change from the days — not long ago — when the mere idea of asking adults to keep their firearms locked away from children was seen as a nonstarter.

The momentum shift is so significant that gun control advocates believe 2023 will be the year the state Legislature finally restricts private access to military-style assault weapons.
 
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Nothing new there. Gun control zealots want more of it. If the first thousand gun control laws don't work, clearly adding another thousand is the thing to do. That and higher taxes.
 
I have a personal opinion on what 2nd Amendment supporters can do to BEST support our rights in response to the wave of the on-slought.

First, this is what I think is not going to help much: Trying to convince Democrats to vote against this junk is an exercise in futility. The reason why is gun control is POPULAR in Washington State. It's a proven winner for them because of the demographic makeup of the state. We can lobby them until we are blue in the face, but it has no effect on them because they have CONTEMPT for us.

This is where we might be able to get some help from friendly Republicans: Persuade them that is our best interest to help Democrats to put as much hyperbole and emotionalism into the text of the legislation as the justification for the legislation. The more the better. If we can get 10 pages of hyperbole as justification for the legislation, the better off we are.

My reasoning WHY this is our best strategy: In the post-Bruen v NYSRPA world, hyperbole and emotionalism must be rejected by the courts. The only justification for any restrictions, is whether or not there is historical precedent from 1791. Loading up the legislation with hyperbole and emotionalism HELPS us when we have to go to court to get an injunction. The more hyperbole and emotionalism that is present, the easier it becomes for pro-2nd Amendment lawyers to strike the law down. Maybe Republicans could even get some climate change arguments and trans-gender rights into the bills as well to "help" the Democrats make it even more convincing in their circles, and worse for them when it comes to the court hearings.
 
I know facts are beyond these idiots. BUT
The way records for "gun" deaths are now recorded, the stats are all put together now.
Homicide and suicide numbers are all rolled into one big number.
STEP ONE is getting this numbers back to being segregated.

Until they stop rolling all this garbage into the same pot it will continue to get worse.

In Oregon over 80% of the homicide numbers are suicide. These people are going to K i l l themselves either way unless they get help.
I'm sure the numbers are similar for Warshingtonians.


There needs to be a collective consistent voice on full throttle pushing the overton window past
repealing the NFA and GCA. We have allowed too much ground to be given up.

No more compromise.
 
I know facts are beyond these idiots. BUT
The way records for "gun" deaths are now recorded, the stats are all put together now.
Homicide and suicide numbers are all rolled into one big number.
STEP ONE is getting this numbers back to being segregated.

Until they stop rolling all this garbage into the same pot it will continue to get worse.

In Oregon over 80% of the homicide numbers are suicide. These people are going to K i l l themselves either way unless they get help.
I'm sure the numbers are similar for Warshingtonians.


There needs to be a collective consistent voice on full throttle pushing the overton window past
repealing the NFA and GCA. We have allowed too much ground to be given up.

No more compromise.
You missed the point entirely. Arguments about numbers of deaths are meaningless from a legal standpoint in court when evaluating whether a law is unconstitutional. Those arguments were rendered meaningless by Bruen vs. NYSRPA. The only test now is whether thee was corresponding historical infringements in 1791. People can debate death numbers till the cows come home, but those arguments are irrelevant in court. The more of these types of justifications get loaded into the legislation, the easier it becomes to strike down the law in court. Simply loading up the legislation with these types of arguments is GOOD for us, and BAD for antis. The simple presence of this verbiage in the law makes the law much easier to strike down.
 
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Sadly this is just the same old same old. NO gun laws are ever put in with the idea they will do anything good. The same people who push more gun laws also push letting criminals roam free. This is now and always has been gun owners own fault. They toss ballots in the trash, tell anyone who will listen that voting is a waste of time, elections are rigged, we are outnumbered. If they do vote they often say the "better person" who has a chance to win is not "good enough" so they throw their vote away. One thing they are real good at it screaming when a new law goes in. Often they do not even know the new law went in for a LONG time. Until it effects them. Then they want to blame someone else after they tossed their ballot in the trash or never even registered to vote. :s0092:
 
You missed the point entirely. Arguments about numbers of deaths are meaningless from a legal standpoint in court when evaluating whether a law is unconstitutional. Those arguments were rendered meaningless by Bruen vs. NYSRPA. The only test now is whether thee was corresponding historical infringements in 1791. People can debate death numbers till the cows come home, but those arguments are irrelevant in court. The more of these types of justifications get loaded into the legislation, the easier it becomes to strike down the law in court. Simply loading up the legislation with these types of arguments is GOOD for us, and BAD for antis. The simple presence of this verbiage in the law makes the law much easier to strike down.
Yes and yes..
I was adding to the sentiment.
The pendulum needs to be reset is what I'm saying.
And though the constitution IS on our side, these people care nothing about that.
Meanwhile... C H I N A is sharpening their sticks and licking their chops at the idea of an unarmed west coast
 
Yes and yes..
I was adding to the sentiment.
The pendulum needs to be reset is what I'm saying.
And though the constitution IS on our side, these people care nothing about that.
Meanwhile... C H I N A is sharpening their sticks and licking their chops at the idea of an unarmed west coast
My personal opinion is that the majority of people that promote gun control have idealistic and naieve ideas about achieving a utopia. It is also my personal opinion that the people behind the scenes and at the top of the organizations know exactly what they are doing, and that they are neither naieve and idealistic. I am convinced that their end goal is total enslavement and they know they have to get the guns to achieve there end goal.

The naieve and idealistic ones think that each "failure" indicates a need for more gun control.
The ones at the top look at each "failure" to achieve crime reduction, and to them it is a "success". They WANT more crime because it serves as justification for MORE control. Each "failure" helps them get further along the path to their end goal.
 
My personal opinion is that the majority of people that promote gun control have idealistic and naieve ideas about achieving a utopia.
My opinion: they are those with family problems who are glad to tell you how to run YOUR family. "Idealistic" is the word they use to discuss themselves, while infantile control freaks would be the accurate term.
 
My opinion: they are those with family problems who are glad to tell you how to run YOUR family. "Idealistic" is the word they use to discuss themselves, while infantile control freaks would be the accurate term.
Truth!
Their psychoanalysts probably suggested they get involved with something to help them forget their fears and numerous failures in life and this is what they came up with.
 
What this op-ed speaks to is not far off the mark.

What we are seeing is the sea-change in the make-up of the electorate in our state.

We, (typically) conservative, mostly blue-collar gun-owning, outdoorsman types and hunters, no longer are even close to being the majority in this state.

The millenials, GenXers, GenZers, who never learned cursive writing, living their lives in virtual reality, can't be separated from their cell phones long enough to take a good dump, whose idea of being in the great outdoors is walking two blocks down to the nearest Starbucks for their morning lattes, who can't live without Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, along with the myriad of ex-convicts that now can vote (and hold elected office), homeless folks living in "encampments" under overpasses or next to Bass Pro Shops, migrants from California, twenty-somethings with no life experience, no credit, no car, still living with their parents, children of undocumented immigrants, Evergreen College students and grads who can't own up to being addressed as Mr., Miss, Sir or Ma'am, young people who didn't take Civics, Government or Social Studies in public school 'cause it's not longer offered, people who have never read the Bill of Rights and even if they did, believe it irrelevant to their lives -- this is the new majority in Washington state.

The voters HAVE spoken. And it wasn't US.
 
Deschutes County Sheriff Nelson offered this:
BM114 would cost $145 million to implement. With no fund site in place, and Oregon's law enforcement agencies are expected to pick up the tab.
"You cannot legislate good behavior... Measure 114 only penalizes law-abiding citizens in what is a long-term refusal in Salem to properly fund mental health and drug dependency issues. We consistently rank at the bottom of the barrel in these areas per the yearly statistics available to anyone with a computer. Mass shootings and suicide are mental health related incidents – can you imagine the strides in this area if $145 million dollars were properly set aside in Oregon and used to improve our mental health system?"
 
Yet the rate of gun deaths in Washington has increased sharply, according to the Alliance, which reports a 24% increase in gun deaths between 2011 and 2020. Against those numbers, responsible gun owners are right to ask whether our laws are getting the job done.
I'm not sure the timeline has been long enough, but it sure suggests that law-breakers are not taking gun safety to heart.

The difficulty is verifying how quickly that was done in this case.
Yes, this is murky territory. Because guns aren't always handled nor observed on a daily basis. If they are locked up, they are less subject to theft. But theft isn't always discovered right away with guns. Get a good lawyer for this one.

Gun responsibility advocates are making a calculated guess that proposing restrictions on dealers and distributors, rather than private owners, will enable legislators to carry the law across the goal line, as they did with the high-capacity magazine ban.
Huh. I'll believe that one when I see it.

Trying to convince Democrats to vote against this junk is an exercise in futility. The reason why is gun control is POPULAR in Washington State. It's a proven winner for them because of the demographic makeup of the state. We can lobby them until we are blue in the face, but it has no effect on them because they have CONTEMPT for us.
This is an absolute truism. Because most Dems in Wash. are anti-gun, and they have been in power a long, long time. They don't face constituent consequences for voting against gun owners. Dems in eastern Wash. used to sometimes vote pro-gun but that practice seems to have fallen by the wayside.

Homicide and suicide numbers are all rolled into one big number
In my opinion, suicide is a matter of personal choice and should not subject to legal regulation.

The naieve and idealistic ones think that each "failure" indicates a need for more gun control.
The same lot who think failures of socialism require more socialism as a remedy.

Don't take my black rifle, most murders are committed using a handgun
This is a fact, close to 60% of gun deaths are due to use of a handgun. Not rifles. Of any kind.

However, I will say this. I was an early adopter of the AR rifle. I bought a Colt SP-1 in 1972 after I got out of the army. At that time, civilian ownership was somewhat rare. They were not often seen at the range in those days. The early ones were not cheap compared to other firearms. In fact, there weren't that many semi-auto rifle offerings for civilians. The usual Remington semi-auto sporters. M1 Rifles hadn't yet been released in profusion by DCM/CMP. Yes, there were quite a few M1 Carbines around that had been sold as surplus but are those really a rifle? Other things like a German G.43, Ljungmann, FN49, weren't all that common. Etc., etc. Sporting bolt actions were still the rule. But over time, the AR platform got going stronger, and somewhere along the line, AK types were imported for a while. Repro M14's and the Ruger Mini-14 came along in there. Money was to be made. The Clinton "assault rifle" ban from 1994 to 2004 wasn't very strict, you could still get new AR's with "evil" features deleted. But I think that when the ban expired, many people started jumping into AR's because they had the idea that the ban might get reinstated and they wanted to get theirs before that happened. As sales picked up, more manufacturers entered the field. In 2000, there were about 29 makers. By year 2015, there were over 500. More money was to be made. So we got to the point in the US where just about anyone who wanted an AR could buy one. You can't argue that an AR is not a more effective killing machine than the average handgun. Some nut ball gets ahold of one, they can do a lot more damage. Our Las Vegas poster child killed 58 and wounded at least 400 in one episode. You have to chalk up a lot of drive by shootings in Chicago with pistols to come up to that. Just keeping it in perspective by my own time horizon.
 
One more thing I'll add re. the predominant use of handguns in shooting deaths.

Used to be, the anti-gun focus WAS on handguns. A certain amount of the impetus behind the 1968 GCA was from handguns. Semi-auto rifles seem to have shifted that focal point for the anti-gun advocates. Maybe due to the number of mass shootings. But I'm thinking that once they get semi-auto rifles throttled back to their heart's content, I'd expect them to redouble the collective effort against handguns.
 
This is where we might be able to get some help from friendly Republicans: Persuade them that is our best interest to help Democrats to put as much hyperbole and emotionalism into the text of the legislation as the justification for the legislation. The more the better. If we can get 10 pages of hyperbole as justification for the legislation, the better off we are.
Republicans can't get elected because most conservatives stopped voting. Most voting districts in eastern WA averaged 35% voter turnout in elections, which means that 65% of registered voters have been tossing their ballots in the trash.

You forfeit the game when your team don't show up to play. 📣
 
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It's difficult to say how deep the stupid runs in most people. I assume the average voter will sink to the bottom while clutching whatever talisman they choose to believe in, no matter how many times it hasn't done a single thing .
I have noticed a few long term blue voters expressing shock and outrage when they actually realize that no one is going to instantly materialize and save them in a real emergency. Whether they make the mental ( and emotional) leap to realizing that it's better to be ready and save yourself is a big if.
Voting away simple, effective, cheap tools of self preservation seems insane to me. But I don't go through life wearing commie- pink colored glasses.
 
My personal opinion is that the majority of people that promote gun control have idealistic and naieve ideas about achieving a utopia. It is also my personal opinion that the people behind the scenes and at the top of the organizations know exactly what they are doing, and that they are neither naieve and idealistic. I am convinced that their end goal is total enslavement and they know they have to get the guns to achieve there end goal.

The naieve and idealistic ones think that each "failure" indicates a need for more gun control.
The ones at the top look at each "failure" to achieve crime reduction, and to them it is a "success". They WANT more crime because it serves as justification for MORE control. Each "failure" helps them get further along the path to their end goal.
Once CCP shuts down our power grid and renders our world standard petroleum-dollar obsolete, the 2nd Amendment is our last ditch defense. These Dems really think the PRC military leaders will show them mercy for disarming us?
 
It's difficult to say how deep the stupid runs in most people. I assume the average voter will sink to the bottom while clutching whatever talisman they choose to believe in, no matter how many times it hasn't done a single thing .
I have noticed a few long term blue voters expressing shock and outrage when they actually realize that no one is going to instantly materialize and save them in a real emergency. Whether they make the mental ( and emotional) leap to realizing that it's better to be ready and save yourself is a big if.
Voting away simple, effective, cheap tools of self preservation seems insane to me. But I don't go through life wearing commie- pink colored glasses.

Dick Durban's solution to carjacking is making cars uncarjackable..
 

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