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And it begins - Bellingham City Council Park Gun Ban; but wants ban power

Gene Beasley

Gene Beasley

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uncoolperson wrote:
if you want to be really disgusted watch the council videos
city council meeting video (begins at 12:00)
committee meeting video (also begins at 12:00)
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I guess I have to cut a little slack. We, as a group, have a higher focused level of knowledge. I don't understand plat reviews (I've bored myself to death watching various city council meetings). The council members are uniformly clueless on this issue and the city attorney should have educated them. Although off camera during the committee meeting, there seemed to be a lady with a bit of a clue; probably Ryan.

What surprised me was the city attorney. He did little to inform the council of certain facts.
  • Washington has no RCW with the term 'brandishing.'
  • He consistently used the term 'causes' alarm, instead of what .270 states; specifically the term 'warrants alarm.' They would have really benefited from a brief lesson on what .270 means. Good God, squirrel hunting in a city park with a shotgun....
  • At no point did he inform them that OC is legal in Washington. They all seemed to focus on the 'as long as they have it concealed' or 'as long as they have a CPL.'
  • Not knowing that they could not prohibit carry in the council chambers (assuming they don't meet in the municipal court -or- the court is in the same building and the entire building is sterile).
Anyone living in Bellingham proper should be all over this legislative action item. They represent you. Uncoolperson, are you the lone wolf in the city? Anyone else you get elicit to get some lobbying to get them to drop their ambiguous action item (hell, they don't even know what they agreed to lobby :X. My daughter is still going to WWU, so I can take the angle of thanking them for bringing their code into line. I don't pay taxes or vote for them. Everyone I know that works in B'ham lives outside the city.
 
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heresolong

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Among other ridiculous statements is Louis Bjornson's argument that she was not comfortable repealing the prohibition because there were two shootings in a park near her house. What the ^&* does that have to do with anything? The shootings were illegal. They had nothing to do with possession.

They have also motioned to work with the state legislature to get rid of preemption as it relates to parks, the motion carried unanimously.
 
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uncoolperson

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heresolong wrote:
They have also motioned to work with the state legislature to get rid of preemption as it relates to parks, the motion carried unanimously.
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yeah, it'd be a good idea to let your reps (even if you are blessed enough to not be a resident of bellingham) know that the crazies in bellingham are infact that and thier ideas are crazy as well.
 
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heresolong

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uncoolperson wrote:
Gene Beasley wrote:
Uncoolperson, are you the lone wolf in the city?
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If that's the case we're screwed.
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Not the only one in Whatcom County though.

Here is the letter I just shot off to Doug Ericksen and Kelli Linville. Both good people.

Hi Doug,

You may remember me as having worked with you issues relating to motorcycles and on the bill that I asked you to introduce regarding sending out license renewal notices to Concealed Pistol Permit Holders. I now have another issue that I wish to bring to your attention.

Recently the Bellingham City Council voted unanimously to approach the legislature about repealing state preemption of certain firearms laws, specifically focusing on the carry of firearms in parks. They seem to think that prohibiting law abiding persons from legally carrying firearms in parks will somehow improve public safety. As you may know, states with weak or non-existent preemption laws are nightmarish for law abiding gun owners. Each time you travel, even within the county in which you live, you have to worry about a patchwork of firearms laws, making it almost impossible not to inadvertently violate some of those laws. State preemption also helps to guarantee the rights guaranteed in the State Constitution, section 24 of which states "The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired. " This is a stronger guarantee than that found in the federal Constitution.

I wanted to give you a heads up on this issue and know that you will stand with us against this infringement of the Constitutional rights guaranteed by the State of Washington.

Thanks. Calvin
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John Hardin

John Hardin

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heresolong wrote:
Among other ridiculous statements is Louis Bjornson's argument that she was not comfortable repealing the prohibition because there were two shootings in a park near her house.
Click to expand...
Gee, that prohibition is quite effective, then, isn't it? NOT. :banghead:
 
Gene Beasley

Gene Beasley

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Well it won't be you. I just read Bjornson's bio from the web site. This lady is seriously academic smart but not an ounce of common sense. It's like she is willfully ignorant.

Make contacts with your state rep's and senator. Is all of Bellingham in the 40th or is some of it in the 42nd? It looks to me like it's split. If it's split, you have Richard and heresolong to help. Of course there is nothing preventing you from contacting both districts. That's what lobbying is all about.
 
sudden valley gunner

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Wow...that video is disgusting....and they are still under impression that the guns have to be concealed....they feel if you are open carrying you are brandishing....the thought process of these people really confuse..me ...especially when one of the female counselors said her reason was because there was a shooting in her neighborhood...no doubt ..it wasnt a law abiding gun owner who was doing the shooting? This is why I would love to organize an open carry..park clean up...here in Bellingham....that was what my very first post was when I joined this group and before I Knew about this whole case..
 
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Palouse

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Vandal wrote:
MY question is this, how many kids are in parks any more? I rarely see any in my travels around town.
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In the summer, the parks are used by kids quite a bit. I live in Pullman year round, and Reaney, Harrison Tot Lot, Kruegel, the city play fields and others have kids in them throughout the day. Some times are busier than others, but they do get used. I know my wife takes our kids to the park a lot in the summer. During the school year, however, you're right; they don't get used a lot.
 
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suntzu

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uncoolperson wrote:
Lonnie Wilson wrote:
Wow, it took these guys THIS LONG to repeal this ban?

Considering myself and justacar hammered them mercilessly for over a day, and I had a "Come to Jesus" moment with the City Attorney's office, advising them that they just committed an action that could subject them to 42USC1983 (the long silence after that statement was palpable from the ADA), they cut the guy lose and ripped up his ticket.
Click to expand...
we're bellingham

we're slow

if you want to be really disgusted watch the council videos
city council meeting video
committee meeting video
Click to expand...
No one said intelligence was a requirement to serve on any type of city council....

I hate to say it--but these people are morons if they think restricting law abiding citizens from carrying a gun will prevent criminals from doing it.
 
sudden valley gunner

sudden valley gunner

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So anybody wanna test this out I have an excellent video camera and lots of free time right now.I also have a bad habit of not being pushed around by so called athority figures. Wanna be a star? Lets see how many hits we can get on Youtube.
 
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heresolong

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uncoolperson wrote:
I've done some sitting in the park reading books with the 1911 on my side... no one bothers me.
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Might also want to wait until there aren't gale force winds and snow and freezing rain. I OC all the time in the Bellingham area and would be more than happy to do so in some parks.
 
sudden valley gunner

sudden valley gunner

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Rigth on sounds good when we get some clearer weather I am ready. I'm gonna make sure camera stays charged and ready to go. Has anybody seen what they are doing in New Hampshire , the free staters are being very proactive about their gun rights its great.
 
amlevin

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Vandal wrote:
MY question is this, how many kids are in parks any more? I rarely see any in my travels around town.
Click to expand...

In some cities there are lots of kids in the parks. Some are selling drugs and some are using. The real question should be "how many Families use parks anymore?"

Sadly, there aren't enough, especially in the large cities.
 
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