Stopping gun violence

Safe and Sane Skagit members drove to Olympia last week to be present as five new legislative bills on gun responsibility were presented before the Legislature’s House Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee. Those bill are: HB 1902/SB6004: Permit-to Purchase that would ensure that background checks occur before a firearm purchase as well as at the point of sale; HB 1903: Lost and Stolen Reporting wherein stolen guns are often diverted to an underground market, making them more easily obtained without restriction; HB 2118: Dealer Responsibility ensuring that all licensed dealers in our state take necessary steps to prevent firearms from falling into the hand of bad actors; HB 2021/ SB 6001, ensuring WA State Patrol is afforded the same flexibility to destroy firearms as local law enforcement; and HB 2054: Bulk Weapons Purchase which are a known indicator of illegal firearms trafficking. Restricting the number of firearms an individual can purchase in a given time period helps prevent firearms from entering the secondary market thus reducing the flow of illegal firearms in our state.

Each bill was debated on both sides, both in person and on Zoom. Each bill will go back to the House Committee to again be debated then decided if it should go forward, out of committee, then make its way through the legislative process. To be a part of this process is the privilege of citizens to be active members of the voting public, to help one better understand not only the process of legislation, but to hear voices on both sides of a debated bill. So begins the 60 days of this short legislative session in our capitol. We shall see where it all leads.

Safe and Sane Skagit is a grass roots organization of local people who have a concern about gun violence in our communities and is searching for ways to impact the legislative and cultural processes in order to bring more safety and sanity to firearm use and availability.

Christine Wardenburg-Skinner

Edison