Bill to boost gun checks falls short in state House [Washington state]

[hack89]

OLYMPIA — Gun-control advocates in the state House conceded defeat Tuesday night on their top priority this session: requiring background checks for all gun sales.

While cautioning that nothing is ever truly dead in Olympia, bill sponsor Jamie Pedersen said that after an intense day of politicking “it does not appear that we’re going to make it there” before Wednesday’s cutoff for non-budget legislation.

House Bill 1588 had come up three votes short.

“I always thought this was a stretch goal for us,” said Pedersen, a Seattle Democrat who had been pushing the bill for weeks. “It turns out it was too much of a stretch.”

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020543308_gunsbillxml.html

Washington was a state that Obama easily won last year. When such a state can't pass a no brainer measure like this, it is clear that support for gun control is not as widespread as some would like us to believe.

[jimmy the one]

1. one down, one to go

When such a state can't pass a no brainer measure like this, it is clear that support for gun control is not as widespread as some would like us to believe.

Congratulations! One down, one to go! Just have to sweat out any federal law requiring background checks, then if that fails too, you can keep having people get guns at gunshows without having to pass anything at all!
You must be so proud, so far, to oppose this sensible rule, which has 90% support, & is blunted predominantly by republican rightwing legislators stonewalling or blocking.
You do realize by now in retrospect, that your sentence above is a false premise/predicate, don't you? since the support for the bg check is there, it's just that the threshold to pass the bill is blocked by RIGHTWING legislators, with a few gunnuted dems thrown in sure, but it's the rightwing which blocks it.
You'd make a great republican, I bet. Ever think of switching?

[hack89]

2. I support this law

just pointing out that, despite what many here want to believe, there is not much deep support in America for gun control.

[AtheistCrusader]

3. Our gun shows require membership to participate, and membership requires a NICS check.

Thanks for asking.

People who so much as handle a gun at the WAC shows in Washington State without a valid membership, are show to the door marked 'exit'.

Membership requires the same background check one would complete purchasing a firearm from a dealer.

[kudzu22]

4. I have a different take

I believe (maybe naively so) that most gun rights supporters, even Republicans, would like to see background checks on all sales. They block the bills because the bills require registration of all firearms in order to be enforceable. It's the registration scheme they oppose, not the checks (in most cases).

If someone had a bill to do background checks on all sales, without a national gun registry, I expect it would pass with broad bipartisan support. I think a national system similar to Illinois' FOID card would be workable. You don't register the gun -- you register the owner. They have to pass a background check to get the card, and then they're legal to buy whatever. It'd be illegal for private sellers to sell to someone without such a card. It can be enforced by ATF through sting operations.

Unfortunately, I think the people pushing these bills have the ultimate goal of a national gun registry, so an otherwise sensible measure is ultimately doomed by their hidden agenda.

[oneshooter]

5. This would have to be done on a state by state basis. And the ATF can not enforce state law.

[Flyboy_451]

6. I think you hit the nail right on the head!

One of the most common lies told by gun control proponents is that gun owners oppose any form of regulation. The truth is that there is quite a bit that can be done that we would not oppose and that many if not most of us would support. Registration kills the chance of any law with most gun owners. The blame for this rests squarely on the shoulders of those who have already used registration to accomish precisely what so many people have said they would never do; confiscate guns. As far as I'm concerned, they made their own bed on that one. Now they can live with the results. Any registration get opposition from me. And any of my reps that cast a vote for a bill that calls for registration or confiscation can add me to the list of people that won't actively support them, and may even actively oppose them come election time.

Rather than a FOID, consider this. Another poster here has put forward this idea many times and I think it's a great one. Run a background check on every person when they get a drivers license or state ID. if they pass, they get an endorsement on said ID that allows them to purchase or possess firearms. No endorsement, no guns. This accomplishes universal BG checks and preserves anonymous firearms ownership. Both sides get what they want. That is compromise.

[Eleanors38]

7. A SERIOUS PROPOSAL, state I.D. b.g. Check or FOID!!

This can be accomplished by the states, and has been discussed in thus forum/group for YEARS.

Two "problems:"

1) Family bequeathal of arms to the next generation, an old, traditional and off-the-books (even probate) method of transferral;

2) Would require state-by-state campaign & lobbying efforts where the political atmosphere is poisoned.

Any suggestions?

[Eleanors38]

8. Who floated the referendum attachment and why?