imported post
Poosharker,
Don't waste your time sending letters to all the legislators -- you have to selectively target those who either might be supportive of your effort, or those who represent the district where you live. Hopefully one or more of your legislators will at least be receptive to your idea.
Those most likely to be receptive are going to be republicans, however there are democrats in this state who are very supportive of 2A. I do work on legislative issues as part of my job, and I'll be realistic -- unless you can find a supportive democrat, any proposal to lower the carry age has a snowball's chance right now. The political landscape may well change after elections next year, but now is the time to begin your work.
You can go about this by writing letters, or you can look at the statutes and consider how you would revise them to allow carry by 18-year-olds. I've been drafting legislation recently and working with legislators, so if you have some specific ideas I'd be happy to help with drafts.
Questions to ponder --
- Are you proposing CC for 18 year olds, or OC only?
- What is your fall-back position, if any? Car carry for 18-21 year old?
- Would you settle for CC/OC for 18-21 with additional training not required of 21+? (similar to hunting at 16 vs. hunting at 18)
- Would you settle for a limitedintra-state CPL for 18-21 that has no validity in other states?
One of the challenges you face with this proposal is that if Washington issues CPLs to those under 21, our state would lose reciprocity with other states that require our standards to be equal or greater to theirs.
Don't be discouraged -- put your mind to work and come up with a workable proposal!
Charles