kschmadeka
Regular Member
imported post
I know this is short notice and perhaps not entirely on topic for the list, but if you can drop a note to Senate Education this evening or tomorrowabout thisit would be much appreciated.
FRP Alert: HB 3131 Hearing In Senate Wednesday
HB 3131, the bill that further clamps down on self-defense rights in school zones, has passed the House nearly unanimously, like HB 2268 did last year. It is now going to be heard in Senate Education on Wednesday morning at 8:00am.
The only three reps who voted against it this year were Jim Dunn, Ed Orcutt, and Jaime Herrera. Those three should be thanked for not following the crowd. Other republican reps should be informed that we're not pleased with this vote. It was right after the '94 sweep that republican majorities gave us gun-free school zones, and the Lautenburg amendment. This sort of vote will not engender the kind of restored trust that will be needed for them to have a chance of getting voted back in.
Last year we were able to stop 2268 in Senate Judiciary on a party line plus Jim Hargrove vote. This year however, 3131 is going to Senate Education where things won't be as easy.
To review, the bill does the following: 1. Raises the penalty for gun possession at a school to a felony, and 2. Includes tasers among the expanded list of prohibited weapons, removing the last viable self-defense option for adults. If the intent behind the first item is to be able to charge a student who illegally brings a gun to school with a felony, we have good news for them. It is already a felony for a minor to illegally carry a gun, all they have to do is use the law rather than ignoring it so they can demand more laws. This provision will therefore have little to no effect on minors, it will only impact adults, who might still be willing to risk a misdemeanor charge to protect others. The inclusion of Tasers as a prohibited weapon will likewise only impact adults, as Tasers are too expensive and heavily regulated for minors to acquire them, and there are currently no students being terrorized by other students with them. The bill amounts to another clampdown on self-defense rights at schools, in ways that impact adults when this bill is supposed to be aimed at curbing weapon possession by students. If enacted, the bill will further insure that attacks on schools go exactly as planned.
The Senate Education chair is Rosemary McAuliffe, who unilaterally killed the School Protection Act (armed teachers)bill in 2002. In 2003, shortly afterward, there was a suicide-by-cop attempt at a Spokane high school. While no one was killed there, the fact that the armed student could not be stoppedfrom carrying out his intentled to a string of copycat shootings, in which two students were killed in Minnesota. A little reminder of that wouldn't hurt.
The list of committee email addresses is below. Please write to them this evening if you possibly can.
Sincerely,
Kevin Schmadeka
Your friendly FRP lobbyist
360 757-7122
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=3131
"Senate Education":mcauliffe.rosemary@leg.wa.gov, tom.rodney@leg.wa.gov, king.curtis@leg.wa.gov, brandland.dale@leg.wa.gov, eide.tracey@leg.wa.gov, hewitt.mike@leg.wa.gov, hobbs.steve@leg.wa.gov, holmquist.janea@leg.wa.gov, kauffman.claudia@leg.wa.gov, mcdermott.joe@leg.wa.gov, oemig.eric@leg.wa.gov, rasmussen.marilyn@leg.wa.gov, weinstein.brian@leg.wa.gov, zarelli.joseph@leg.wa.gov;
I know this is short notice and perhaps not entirely on topic for the list, but if you can drop a note to Senate Education this evening or tomorrowabout thisit would be much appreciated.
FRP Alert: HB 3131 Hearing In Senate Wednesday
HB 3131, the bill that further clamps down on self-defense rights in school zones, has passed the House nearly unanimously, like HB 2268 did last year. It is now going to be heard in Senate Education on Wednesday morning at 8:00am.
The only three reps who voted against it this year were Jim Dunn, Ed Orcutt, and Jaime Herrera. Those three should be thanked for not following the crowd. Other republican reps should be informed that we're not pleased with this vote. It was right after the '94 sweep that republican majorities gave us gun-free school zones, and the Lautenburg amendment. This sort of vote will not engender the kind of restored trust that will be needed for them to have a chance of getting voted back in.
Last year we were able to stop 2268 in Senate Judiciary on a party line plus Jim Hargrove vote. This year however, 3131 is going to Senate Education where things won't be as easy.
To review, the bill does the following: 1. Raises the penalty for gun possession at a school to a felony, and 2. Includes tasers among the expanded list of prohibited weapons, removing the last viable self-defense option for adults. If the intent behind the first item is to be able to charge a student who illegally brings a gun to school with a felony, we have good news for them. It is already a felony for a minor to illegally carry a gun, all they have to do is use the law rather than ignoring it so they can demand more laws. This provision will therefore have little to no effect on minors, it will only impact adults, who might still be willing to risk a misdemeanor charge to protect others. The inclusion of Tasers as a prohibited weapon will likewise only impact adults, as Tasers are too expensive and heavily regulated for minors to acquire them, and there are currently no students being terrorized by other students with them. The bill amounts to another clampdown on self-defense rights at schools, in ways that impact adults when this bill is supposed to be aimed at curbing weapon possession by students. If enacted, the bill will further insure that attacks on schools go exactly as planned.
The Senate Education chair is Rosemary McAuliffe, who unilaterally killed the School Protection Act (armed teachers)bill in 2002. In 2003, shortly afterward, there was a suicide-by-cop attempt at a Spokane high school. While no one was killed there, the fact that the armed student could not be stoppedfrom carrying out his intentled to a string of copycat shootings, in which two students were killed in Minnesota. A little reminder of that wouldn't hurt.
The list of committee email addresses is below. Please write to them this evening if you possibly can.
Sincerely,
Kevin Schmadeka
Your friendly FRP lobbyist
360 757-7122
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=3131
"Senate Education":mcauliffe.rosemary@leg.wa.gov, tom.rodney@leg.wa.gov, king.curtis@leg.wa.gov, brandland.dale@leg.wa.gov, eide.tracey@leg.wa.gov, hewitt.mike@leg.wa.gov, hobbs.steve@leg.wa.gov, holmquist.janea@leg.wa.gov, kauffman.claudia@leg.wa.gov, mcdermott.joe@leg.wa.gov, oemig.eric@leg.wa.gov, rasmussen.marilyn@leg.wa.gov, weinstein.brian@leg.wa.gov, zarelli.joseph@leg.wa.gov;