Mike Weber
Member
I've found myself in disagreement with senator McCaslin on other issues but he's alway stuck by our side in RKBA matters.
Legislature: Gun storage bill won't see action
Friday, January 31, 2003
By DON JENKINS, Columbian staff writer
OLYMPIA -- The shooting death of a Battle Ground girl apparently won't
change the state Senate's long-standing reluctance to hold gun owners
criminally liable for leaving a loaded firearm within a child's reach.
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Thursday that he's
unlikely to hold a hearing on Senate Bill 5317. The bill would make letting
a gun fall into the hands of a child the crime of reckless endangerment, a
gross misdemeanor.
"Generally speaking, I don't hear gun bills," said Sen. Bob McCaslin,
R-Spokane. "You hear a gun bill and everybody comes out and it turns into a
circus. I'm not here to allow circuses."
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, said she has
tried to get the law through the Legislature for several years. She credited
the gun lobby for blocking the bill.
"It's not been really viable to get this bill through the Senate, even
when Democrats were in the majority," she said.
No similar bill has been introduced in the House.
Kohl-Welles said she has read about the shooting of Emilee Randall, 10.
Her 13-year-old brother, Matthew, has been charged with first-degree
manslaughter. "What I really worry about is to what degree we'll continue
having these tragedies," she said.
Matthew Randall and two of his brothers have prior criminal convictions
involving firearms. The Randalls' father, Craig Randall, is a sergeant with
the Clark County Sheriff's Office. Since the incident, the Randalls'
neighbors have urged Sheriff Garry Lucas to mandate that off-duty deputies
store their weapons in safes or secure them with trigger locks.
Sen. Don Carlson, R-Hazel Dell, said he has not been contacted by
constituents pushing to implement a statewide law.
"I have not heard a thing," he said.
Kohl-Welles' bill would prohibit gun owners from keeping a loaded
firearm in a place where a child is likely to gain access to it.
The bill also would require firearm sellers to post signs warning that
"It is unlawful to store or leave an unsecured, loaded firearm where a child
can and does obtain possession."
The idea has been "bobbing" around the Legislature for the past decade,
said Dennis Wilcox, president of the Washington State Rife and Pistol
Association, the state affiliate of the National Rifle Association.
Gun advocates have argued that locking away firearms prevents owners
from gaining quick access in an emergency.
Wilcox also said the law would make criminals of law-abiding citizens
and address something that isn't a big problem.
"What responsibilities do you have to keep poisons from kids?" he asked.
"There's a lot of things out there that can hurt kids."
According to the state's Center for Health Statistics, four people died
in Washington from accidental shootings in 2001, the most recent statistics
available. The center did not specify whether any of them were shot by
children playing with guns.
McCaslin did let one gun bill get a hearing Thursday. Senate Bill 5083
would allow the residents of eight states to carry concealed pistols in
Washington. Those states do the same for Washington residents.
"I think that's it for guns," McCaslin said.
They tried to push gun storage legislation on us a few years ago here in Washington in fact Bill Gates and his father donated a lot of money to the gun control campaign. That bill included licensing of all firearms owners, Criminal and civil liability if your guns were stolen and used in crimes or negligent acts and it would have created a brand new state agency whose sole duty would have been the policing of firearms owners. That one went down in flames with 75% of the voters turning out against it. Now they are attempting to accomplish the same thing by increments.
Legislature: Gun storage bill won't see action
Friday, January 31, 2003
By DON JENKINS, Columbian staff writer
OLYMPIA -- The shooting death of a Battle Ground girl apparently won't
change the state Senate's long-standing reluctance to hold gun owners
criminally liable for leaving a loaded firearm within a child's reach.
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Thursday that he's
unlikely to hold a hearing on Senate Bill 5317. The bill would make letting
a gun fall into the hands of a child the crime of reckless endangerment, a
gross misdemeanor.
"Generally speaking, I don't hear gun bills," said Sen. Bob McCaslin,
R-Spokane. "You hear a gun bill and everybody comes out and it turns into a
circus. I'm not here to allow circuses."
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, said she has
tried to get the law through the Legislature for several years. She credited
the gun lobby for blocking the bill.
"It's not been really viable to get this bill through the Senate, even
when Democrats were in the majority," she said.
No similar bill has been introduced in the House.
Kohl-Welles said she has read about the shooting of Emilee Randall, 10.
Her 13-year-old brother, Matthew, has been charged with first-degree
manslaughter. "What I really worry about is to what degree we'll continue
having these tragedies," she said.
Matthew Randall and two of his brothers have prior criminal convictions
involving firearms. The Randalls' father, Craig Randall, is a sergeant with
the Clark County Sheriff's Office. Since the incident, the Randalls'
neighbors have urged Sheriff Garry Lucas to mandate that off-duty deputies
store their weapons in safes or secure them with trigger locks.
Sen. Don Carlson, R-Hazel Dell, said he has not been contacted by
constituents pushing to implement a statewide law.
"I have not heard a thing," he said.
Kohl-Welles' bill would prohibit gun owners from keeping a loaded
firearm in a place where a child is likely to gain access to it.
The bill also would require firearm sellers to post signs warning that
"It is unlawful to store or leave an unsecured, loaded firearm where a child
can and does obtain possession."
The idea has been "bobbing" around the Legislature for the past decade,
said Dennis Wilcox, president of the Washington State Rife and Pistol
Association, the state affiliate of the National Rifle Association.
Gun advocates have argued that locking away firearms prevents owners
from gaining quick access in an emergency.
Wilcox also said the law would make criminals of law-abiding citizens
and address something that isn't a big problem.
"What responsibilities do you have to keep poisons from kids?" he asked.
"There's a lot of things out there that can hurt kids."
According to the state's Center for Health Statistics, four people died
in Washington from accidental shootings in 2001, the most recent statistics
available. The center did not specify whether any of them were shot by
children playing with guns.
McCaslin did let one gun bill get a hearing Thursday. Senate Bill 5083
would allow the residents of eight states to carry concealed pistols in
Washington. Those states do the same for Washington residents.
"I think that's it for guns," McCaslin said.
They tried to push gun storage legislation on us a few years ago here in Washington in fact Bill Gates and his father donated a lot of money to the gun control campaign. That bill included licensing of all firearms owners, Criminal and civil liability if your guns were stolen and used in crimes or negligent acts and it would have created a brand new state agency whose sole duty would have been the policing of firearms owners. That one went down in flames with 75% of the voters turning out against it. Now they are attempting to accomplish the same thing by increments.
