I-1639 Facts
• Raises the purchase age of semi automatic rifles from 18 to 21, it makes possession or use unlawful for 18-20 year olds.
• Creates a 10 day mandatory waiting period to purchase semiautomatic rifles, no exceptions for law enforcement or CPL holders.
• Requires firearm training every 5 years from an accredited school or agency to purchase these types of firearms, no exceptions for law enforcement or prior military service.
• When purchasing you will be required to release your medical records to the state for life.
• You must pay a $25 per gun tax to purchase, this tax has no cap and can be raised at any time.
• This will create new requirements for firearm storage, but it is very vague and doesn't specifically say how they have to be locked up, if a gun owners firearms are stolen and used in a crime the gun owner can face penalties up to a class C felony and a year in prison.
• If the law enforcement agency that performs the background check misses something and approves the person to get the firearm and the firearm is released to the individual, the gun shop owner can be charged with a class C felony and lose his state firearms license for life, and there can be no legal recourse against the law enforcement agency performing the check.
• Changes the name of semiautomatic rifles to semiautomatic assault rifles.
• Creates a long gun registration program.
I-1639 is being sold as a way to make schools, children and communities safer. Nothing in this initiative will do any of those things.
In 2016 guns were used in 127 homicides and non-negligent manslaughters in Washington state and rifles were used in just 11 of them according to the FBI.
That's 11 total deaths from rifles which include all types of rifles not just semiautomatic. Other than the fact this initiative violates the inherent rights of all citizens of this state, it will cost the state tens of millions of dollars per year to manage; all to possibly stop less than eleven deaths.
If the supporters of this initiative were in fact concerned with saving lives their money would be better used to help find a cure for cancer which was the cause of 12,594 deaths in Washington state in 2016 according to the CDC. Firearm deaths are not even one of the top ten causes of death in Washington.
Washington State patrol along with many other law enforcement agencies in the state have spoken out against this initiative, which makes one ask if in fact this was to create safer communities why would law enforcement be against it.
Definition of an Assault rifle: military firearm that is chambered for ammunition of reduced size or propellant charge and that has the capacity to switch between semiautomatic and fully automatic fire. Fully automatic or select fire weapons have been banned and highly regulated since the national firearms act of 1933. In Washington state a citizen cannot own a fully automatic or select fire weapon.
The requirement for a person to release their medical records to the state is a federal HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) violation and breaks federal law.
Our young adults can vote, join the military and go off to war, fight and possibly die for our country but they aren't mature enough to own a semi-automatic 22 rifle their grandpa passed down to them.
This would create a long gun registration program which is also against federal law. (Federal Law 18 U.S.C. 926)
This initiative also violates our Washington state constitution which states:
Article I Section 24 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.
Definition of impaired: diminished in strength, quality, or utility
I am all for finding ways to curb violence in our schools and communities but disarming and removing inherent rights from law abiding citizens is not the way to do it.
How about gun rights groups and anti-gun groups sitting down and having a civil conversation about how to make a difference and come up with ideas together.
Maybe its time us common citizens show our government how two opposite sides can work together and act like adults. It seams like everyday in the media all we see is our government fighting among themselves, what is that teaching our younger generations.