• We are now running on a new, and hopefully much-improved, server. In addition we are also on new forum software. Any move entails a lot of technical details and I suspect we will encounter a few issues as the new server goes live. Please be patient with us. It will be worth it! :) Please help by posting all issues here.
  • The forum will be down for about an hour this weekend for maintenance. I apologize for the inconvenience.
  • If you are having trouble seeing the forum then you may need to clear your browser's DNS cache. Click here for instructions on how to do that
  • Please review the Forum Rules frequently as we are constantly trying to improve the forum for our members and visitors.

A email from my state senator and my response.

gogodawgs

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Oct 25, 2009
Messages
5,669
Location
Federal Way, Washington, USA
imported post

With all due respect Senator:

Your job is to uphold the Constitution of the State of Washington, which in part states:

Declaration of Rights

We, the people of the State of Washington, grateful to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for our liberties, do ordain this constitution.

Section 1 Political Power. All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights





From: Regala, Sen. Debbie
Sent: Wednesday, February 03, 2010 11:20 AM
To:
Subject: RE: SB6396









Mr. Nick





Dear Mr. Smith,



Thank you for contacting my office to express your concerns about SB 6396, the Assault Weapons Ban. As you know, this bill has both strong supporters and strong opponents.(Actually at the hearing on Jan. 26th there were very few supporters and their arguments were very weak.) Fully automatic weapons, also known as machine guns, have been banned in the U.S. since 1934. (That is actually untrue, in many states it is legal to own a fully automatic weapon, it is just highly regulated.) In 1994, President Clinton signed a federal law that banned 19 types of military-style assault weapons.(Again, this is untrue, none of these weapons were 'military-style'.) The ban expired in 2004 after Congress failed to reauthorize the legislation.



Senate Bill 6396 would prohibit the sale, possession, purchase, transfer or manufacture of assault weapons conversion kits.(Again untrue, the bill says nothing of a 'kit', it speaks of cosmetic items that have nothing to do with the function of the firearm.) The bill defines semi-automatics as a weapon with a magazine capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition and a host of other characteristics related to the stock, barrel, muzzle and magazine. (Again this is untrue, 'semi-automatic' weapons are already defined as weapons that auto load the next round.)



There will be exceptions provided for law enforcement, military personnel, federal or state licensed manufacturers and repairers.(Are law enforcement, et al. covered differently in our state constitution? No they are not Section 24 refers to'the people' and not law enforcement.) Present owners may continue to possess their weapons by complying with several requirements: and allowing law enforcement to inspect for compliance.(This would be and outright violation of the 4th Amendment to the US Constitution. Furthermore, the government does not give rights they are there to 'protect and maintain individual rights.') The difference between a semi-automatic and a fully automatic weapon is not significant.(On its face this is an out and out lie, actually they are quite significant and this shows a complete lack of knowledge on the subject.)Many semi-automatic guns sold today can easily be converted to fully automatic operation with a minor after-market modification. (Again this is an out and out lie, if you can site an expert opinion on this issue it would be helpful.)



These weapons are primarily used for violence and crimes, not recreation or hunting. (The US and Washington State Constituion say nothing of recreation or hunting, as a matter of fact both the 2nd Amendment and Section 24 refer to self defense of the person, the state and the people fromgovernment.) They are weapons of choice for many criminals. (Again, this is a lie, less than 1%of these weapons are involved in crime according to the FBI. And I will remind you that Maurice Clemons used a revolver to commit murder against the Lakewood Police officers. A revolver whose technology was available 150 or more years ago.) I will be interested to learn why gun owners believe they need this type of weapon. (Don't try to cloud the issue by saying need, It is the Bill of Rights not the Bill of Needs. Again, both the 2nd Amendment and Section 24 are to protect the individual from a tyrannical government.)



I take the trust constituents place in me very seriously. (I hope that you do. For your information IAM NOT a member of the NRA or other gun organization. I have founded a PTA at a new school in this state and represented it at thestate PTA convention and other PTA members I have spoken with find laws like this a waste of the legislators time.) I will do my best to represent the interest of the 27[suP]th[/suP] Legislative District and keep your input in mind as we deliberate through this challenging issue. (Vote No)





Sincerely,





Sen. Debbie Regala

27[suP]th[/suP] Legislative District

(360) 786-7652

Email: regala.debbie@leg.wa.gov







From: Nick
Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 10:30 AM
To: Regala, Sen. Debbie
Subject: SB6396




Hon. Sen. Debbie Ragala,





Senator, in response to the horrible criminal acts of a few really evil men SB 6396 has been introduced.


I urge you to DEFEAT this bill and defend the Washington State Constitution, which states.





SECTION 24 RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS. The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men.





The bill does nothing to focus on the faults in our custody system to incarcerate the evil men who perpetrated crimes this past year. Please focus your time on keeping evil behind bars.





Sincerely,





Nick
 

VoiceinShelton

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2008
Messages
12
Location
Shelton, Washington, USA
imported post

Excellent response to the illegal gun ban. I hope they will stop taking the sledge hammer approach and focus on the issue at hand. Our current system of corrections needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. Gangs still run rampant, drugs get into facilities all over the country and criminals come out worse then when they went in.

I don't have all the answers but I can make observations about the system that has failed time and again.
 

Lante

Regular Member
Joined
May 27, 2009
Messages
122
Location
Kingston, Washington, USA
imported post

You might want to ask the Senator a few questions about guns...not about any legislation. I did this many moons ago when I was young and had lots of time...I went to Oly, located some legislators and their staffs to "learn how laws are made here" (fully being aware, and being there for the purpose of opposing the infamous "Trigger Lock" legislation)

I found that nearly all the legislators who were PRO trigger lock laws had amazing answers to the following questions....

What is your expertise on this subject? (none but I know about guns and crime)
Have you ever shot a gun? (no),
Have you ever handled a gun? (no),
Ever seen one outside of a holster other than on TV or in the movies (no - but the State Patrol has them)
Have you ever talked to any of the State Patrol Officers about how their guns work? (no)
Where did you learn about guns / crime etc. (most of the time it was from that nice briefer Wa Cease Fire sends by each week) :banghead:
Are you aware that trigger locks on some types of guns will cause them to operate in a manner which can lead to an accidental discharge?

At this point I was able to perform some basic gun education (literally the basics of the NRA Eddie Eagle program - including other "gun stuff" aimed at kids (hunter education materials)

By the end it appeared some of their stances had been modified a bit, and I got calls from 3 of them for a few months on gun questions. :celebrate
 

killchain

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2009
Messages
788
Location
Richland, Washington, USA
imported post

gogodawgs wrote:
In green and parentheses is my response to her response to my original email.
Ah, okay, was just wondering. It would have been kind of humorous to see an email that was written like that from a politician.
 

PoppaGary

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2007
Messages
119
Location
Vancouver, Washington, USA
imported post

Responses and attitudes like that in Government are the main part of the problem. They don't really read the bills, do any legwork to learn about them or the consequences...they probably get most of that fromtheir staff and lobbyists.Another good reason for us to stay in contact with these people and try to get some of the facts and our perspectives to sink in over time.

They also need to quit passing BS laws and write new ones in semi normal language that both they and we can understand. If they can't understand and articulate the new bill, it shouldn't pass. When we know more about the law and effect of changes than they do, it shows we really need to improve the system.

Gary
 
Top