Gun Measures
Initiative 594 passed in November with 59% of the statewide vote. It requires background checks for all gun sales and transfers. Since passing, a number of problems for law-abiding gun owners have come to light and numerous legislative solutions were proposed this session. Some of these measures expanded on the initiative, some clarified or deleted sections, and one was an outright repeal of the measure. It takes a 2/3 vote to amend an initiative in the legislature which is a very hard standard to meet and most of the legislation died prior to the cutoff.
The firearm legislation that WACOPS was the most interested in were SB 5539 (Roach), SB 5579 (Dammeier), and HB 1535 (Klippert). These bills would have allowed law enforcement officers to purchase firearms with a state issued commission card rather than have to have a Concealed Pistol License. The bills were drafted under a section of law that amended I-594 and thus were subject to the 2/3 vote requirement. The Senate bills received a hearing but no vote and the House bill did not receive a hearing. WACOPS had an amendment drafted that changed the area of law that SB 5579 would change, thereby eliminating the need for a 2/3 majority. Unfortunately, the amendments were not attached and the legislation is considered dead.
