Drizzt
Member
Help keep guns from kids, crooks
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
Whitney Graves of Marysville would be 15 years old this year. Maybe playing soccer, probably dreaming about getting her learner's permit next year. But Whitney Graves was accidentally killed when a 10-year-old neighbor got hold of a gun more than six years ago. Still struggling for life is legislation that could make it less likely that another child will die the same way.
It's been so long since the girl's death and so many legislative sessions have come and gone without passage of the safe firearms storage legislation that the bill no longer bears her name. Nonetheless, maybe this will be the year that legislators allow their concern for children's safety to override their fear of political fallout from passing any sort of gun legislation.
Senate Bill 5317 is a simple, unobtrusive proposal. If a gun owner's loaded firearm should wind up in the hands of a child, the gun owner could face a charge of reckless endangerment, a gross misdemeanor. The gun owner is legally inoculated against that charge, however, if the firearm was safely stored; that is, "secured in a locked box, gun safe, other secure locked storage space or secured with a lock or any device that prevents the firearm from discharging." It is legal protection for a gun owner whose firearm is stolen or whose property is broken into.
The bill would also require that gun dealers offer to sell or give firearms buyers a lock box, gun safe, lock or "any device that prevents the firearm from discharging."
It's past time to pass this bill.
Also deserving passage is Senate Bill 5316, which would end a risky and irrational exception to the requirement for background checks on those purchasing firearms. The so-called "gun show loophole" allows an unreasonable double standard for firearms sellers at gun shows.
The reality of the current system is that firearms transactions can differ dramatically at gun shows. To purchase a gun at a booth operated by a licensed firearms dealer, a buyer who does not already possess a concealed pistol license must undergo a national background check for criminal and mental illness records and then wait five days to take delivery if the gun purchased is a pistol.
To buy a gun at a booth operated by a private seller, any buyer can simply pay for the gun and leave with it -- no background check, no waiting period. It's an open market for those whose criminal or mental health problems would otherwise bar them from purchasing a firearm. It's time the gun rights community wises up to inherent risks in this system and assists rather than resists sensible changes.
Senate Bill 5316 would require that either all sellers at gun shows be licensed dealers or that the gun show organizers also require background checks on transactions involving non-licensed sellers.
There are some problems with the bill that should be alleviated before final passage. Its definition of a gun show (three people and 10 firearms) is unrealistically restrictive; these conditions could exist during a routine weekend hunting trip. Also, it contains an unreasonable requirement that gun show sponsors police firearms transactions even in areas "near the gun show or event that the sponsor knows or should reasonably know will be used for parking for the gun show or event."
At the very least, closing this loophole would eliminate a competitive disadvantage for licensed dealers. At best, it would make it more difficult for those who shouldn't have firearms to buy them.
Proponents of the bill said that during last session House Democratic leadership blocked the bill from a House vote. House Speaker Frank Chopp should use the weight of his office to force a vote if the bill reaches his chamber. Both houses should approve the bill this session. These are two reasonable measures that could help keep firearms out of the hands of children and crooks. Not another of Whitney Graves' missed birthdays should pass without these laws being approved.
On the Net:
www.leg.wa.gov/wsladm/bills.cfm
www.ceasefirefoundation.org
www.saf.org/
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/107758_gunsed.shtml
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
Whitney Graves of Marysville would be 15 years old this year. Maybe playing soccer, probably dreaming about getting her learner's permit next year. But Whitney Graves was accidentally killed when a 10-year-old neighbor got hold of a gun more than six years ago. Still struggling for life is legislation that could make it less likely that another child will die the same way.
It's been so long since the girl's death and so many legislative sessions have come and gone without passage of the safe firearms storage legislation that the bill no longer bears her name. Nonetheless, maybe this will be the year that legislators allow their concern for children's safety to override their fear of political fallout from passing any sort of gun legislation.
Senate Bill 5317 is a simple, unobtrusive proposal. If a gun owner's loaded firearm should wind up in the hands of a child, the gun owner could face a charge of reckless endangerment, a gross misdemeanor. The gun owner is legally inoculated against that charge, however, if the firearm was safely stored; that is, "secured in a locked box, gun safe, other secure locked storage space or secured with a lock or any device that prevents the firearm from discharging." It is legal protection for a gun owner whose firearm is stolen or whose property is broken into.
The bill would also require that gun dealers offer to sell or give firearms buyers a lock box, gun safe, lock or "any device that prevents the firearm from discharging."
It's past time to pass this bill.
Also deserving passage is Senate Bill 5316, which would end a risky and irrational exception to the requirement for background checks on those purchasing firearms. The so-called "gun show loophole" allows an unreasonable double standard for firearms sellers at gun shows.
The reality of the current system is that firearms transactions can differ dramatically at gun shows. To purchase a gun at a booth operated by a licensed firearms dealer, a buyer who does not already possess a concealed pistol license must undergo a national background check for criminal and mental illness records and then wait five days to take delivery if the gun purchased is a pistol.
To buy a gun at a booth operated by a private seller, any buyer can simply pay for the gun and leave with it -- no background check, no waiting period. It's an open market for those whose criminal or mental health problems would otherwise bar them from purchasing a firearm. It's time the gun rights community wises up to inherent risks in this system and assists rather than resists sensible changes.
Senate Bill 5316 would require that either all sellers at gun shows be licensed dealers or that the gun show organizers also require background checks on transactions involving non-licensed sellers.
There are some problems with the bill that should be alleviated before final passage. Its definition of a gun show (three people and 10 firearms) is unrealistically restrictive; these conditions could exist during a routine weekend hunting trip. Also, it contains an unreasonable requirement that gun show sponsors police firearms transactions even in areas "near the gun show or event that the sponsor knows or should reasonably know will be used for parking for the gun show or event."
At the very least, closing this loophole would eliminate a competitive disadvantage for licensed dealers. At best, it would make it more difficult for those who shouldn't have firearms to buy them.
Proponents of the bill said that during last session House Democratic leadership blocked the bill from a House vote. House Speaker Frank Chopp should use the weight of his office to force a vote if the bill reaches his chamber. Both houses should approve the bill this session. These are two reasonable measures that could help keep firearms out of the hands of children and crooks. Not another of Whitney Graves' missed birthdays should pass without these laws being approved.
On the Net:
www.leg.wa.gov/wsladm/bills.cfm
www.ceasefirefoundation.org
www.saf.org/
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/107758_gunsed.shtml
