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SEDRO-WOOLLEY, Wash., April 10, 2023On the Saturday before Easter, the state Senates majority Democrats passed what they call an assault weapons ban. In reality, the bill targets several of the most popular sporting and self-defense firearms in the country, including most modern sporting rifles and even some shotguns used for hunting and competition shooting.

My Republican colleagues and I debated the measure for nearly three hours, using the amendment process to try to point out the fallacies of their arguments and mitigate some of the damage the bill would do to the rights of Washingtonians and small business owners who work as legal firearms dealers.

As it turned out, I was the only one able to get an amendment accepted one to support our military members and allow them to keep their firearms when they are ordered to move to Washington.

The proponents of this bill and I agree on one thing and one thing only. We are in a crisis in Washington. But it is a crisis of general lawlessness across our communities, one exacerbated by bad legislative decisions over the past several legislative sessions.

We have seen soft-on-crime policies, releasing criminals from incarceration; vilification of our law enforcement officers; toleration of life-destroying drug proliferation and use; failure to address mental health adequately; and poor decisions during the COVID lockdowns resulting in learning loss and depression among our youth. We need to focus on addressing the root causes leading to chaos and violence, not vilify firearm ownership.

Our nation has always had a history of gun ownership, and the Second Amendment to the U.S. constitution enshrines our naturally endowed right to defend ourselves and our families. But what we have not always seen what is new to the moment is the devastating loss of life we have witnessed due to crime, suicide, mass shootings and senseless violence.

House Bill 1240 declares the violent and inappropriate use of firearms appeal[s] to troubled young men intent on becoming the next mass shooter. But where is the effort to help these troubled young males and heal whatever there is inside of them that is broken and leading to violence and rage?

Instead, this bill goes after the implement, and completely ignores the underlying root causes of the problems we see today.

The problems are not just reflected in deaths caused by a demented person with a firearm. We see it in the increase of drug-related deaths, teen suicides, wrong-way and drunk-driving assaults on our roads, and in the sunken eyes of lost souls we see roaming our streets with unattended-to mental-health and substance-abuse issues.

It is reflected in fatherless homes producing rudderless young men who feel hopeless and unsure of their place in this world. It is reflected in the general lawlessness we have seen explode across this state, thanks in large part to the failed policies of the Democrat majority in the Legislature and Governor Inslee.

Banning some of the most popular firearms kept and used by law-abiding citizens today will do nothing to address these problems. Absolutely zero.

Look no further than the City of Seattle. Despite Washington ranking in the Top 10 nationally for gun control for the past five years, we have seen the number of shootings fatal or not and shots-fired events in our largest city hit an all-time high in 2022.

The fact of the matter is the law created by this bill will just be more of the same. Worse still, it will give the victims of these crimes and all Washingtonians a false sense of security that something is being done.

And lets not forget that this ban is also blatantly unconstitutional, and likely to cost taxpayers crucial dollars that could be invested in mental health and public safety, but which will instead be used trying to unsuccessfully defend this law in the courts.

HB 1240 now goes back to the House to reconcile changes between the version that passed the Senate and the one that passed the House earlier this year. That means there is still time for lawmakers to do the right thing, put this bill down, and set their sights on real solutions.

Sincerely,Senator Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro-WoolleyWashington State Legislature

Editors Note:Letters-to-the-Editor do not reflect the views of the Lynnwood Times, its publisher nor those of its employees and contributors, and are solely those of the author.

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Commentary: Attacking the Second Amendment doesnt address ... - Lynnwood Times

On the Saturday before Easter, the state Senates majority Democrats passed what they call an assault weapons ban. In reality, the bill targets several of the most popular sporting and self-defense firearms in the country, including most modern sporting rifles and even some shotguns used for hunting and competition shooting.

My Republican colleagues and I debated the measure for nearly three hours, using the amendment process to try to point out the fallacies of their arguments and mitigate some of the damage the bill would do to the rights of Washingtonians and small business owners who work as legal firearms dealers.

As it turned out, I was the only one able to get an amendment accepted one to support our military members and allow them to keep their firearms when they are ordered to move to Washington.

The proponents of this bill and I agree on one thing and one thing only. We are in a crisis in Washington. But it is a crisis of general lawlessness across our communities, one exacerbated by bad legislative decisions over the past several legislative sessions.

We have seen soft-on-crime policies, releasing criminals from incarceration; vilification of our law enforcement officers; toleration of life-destroying drug proliferation and use; failure to address mental health adequately; and poor decisions during the COVID lockdowns resulting in learning loss and depression among our youth. We need to focus on addressing the root causes leading to chaos and violence, not vilify firearm ownership.

Our nation has always had a history of gun ownership, and the Second Amendment to the U.S. constitution enshrines our naturally endowed right to defend ourselves and our families. But what we have not always seen what is new to the moment is the devastating loss of life we have witnessed due to crime, suicide, mass shootings and senseless violence.

House Bill 1240 declares the violent and inappropriate use of firearms appeal[s] to troubled young men intent on becoming the next mass shooter. But where is the effort to help these troubled young males and heal whatever there is inside of them that is broken and leading to violence and rage?

Instead, this bill goes after the implement, and completely ignores the underlying root causes of the problems we see today.

The problems are not just reflected in deaths caused by a demented person with a firearm. We see it in the increase of drug-related deaths, teen suicides, wrong-way and drunk-driving assaults on our roads, and in the sunken eyes of lost souls we see roaming our streets with unattended-to mental-health and substance-abuse issues.

It is reflected in fatherless homes producing rudderless young men who feel hopeless and unsure of their place in this world. It is reflected in the general lawlessness we have seen explode across this state, thanks in large part to the failed policies of the Democrat majority in the Legislature and Governor Inslee.

Banning some of the most popular firearms kept and used by law-abiding citizens today will do nothing to address these problems. Absolutely zero.

Look no further than the City of Seattle. Despite Washington ranking in the Top 10 nationally for gun control for the past five years, we have seen the number of shootings fatal or not and shots-fired events in our largest city hit an all-time high in 2022.

The fact of the matter is the law created by this bill will just be more of the same. Worse still, it will give the victims of these crimes and all Washingtonians a false sense of security that something is being done.

And lets not forget that this ban is also blatantly unconstitutional, and likely to cost taxpayers crucial dollars that could be invested in mental health and public safety, but which will instead be used trying to unsuccessfully defend this law in the courts.

HB 1240 now goes back to the House to reconcile changes between the version that passed the Senate and the one that passed the House earlier this year. That means there is still time for lawmakers to do the right thing, put this bill down, and set their sights on real solutions.

Sen. Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro-Woolley, represents the 39th Legislative District. He serves as the Senate Republican Whip and is a member of the Senate Law and Justice Committee.

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Attacking Second Amendment doesn't address core causes of ... - Whitman County Gazette

Gov. Kristi Noem will be in Indianapolis on Friday, attending the National Rifle Association convention and is scheduled to give remarks at the group's annual leadership forum.

She gave a New Hampshire radio show Wednesday a preview of her remarks, saying she would speak about the history of the Second Amendment and why its important.

Its not just about standing for freedom, its also about winning the hearts and minds of Americans, Noem said on Good Morning NH, adding the NRA needs to have a clear message about why its members continue to defend the Second Amendment.

I dont know of any other grandma thats going to be standing there giving a speech to the NRA. I dont know of any other mom standing there talking about these things," Noem said. "Im a different kind of messenger for the NRA, but I am the NRA."

Noem will also receive the 2023 NRA Distinguished Hunters Leadership Award on Thursday evening ahead of the conventions start. She will be presented the award, because of her accomplishments in promoting hunters and hunting and the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.

Noem is also expected to sign an executive order during her speech Friday, according to Ian Fury, the governor's spokesperson. The order will "further protect the Second Amendment rights of South Dakotans." Exact details are unclear at this time.

More: In contrast to some elected leaders, poll shows SD voters support more gun restrictions

The second term governor, an avid hunter, is a staunch supporter of the NRA. One of her first actions as governor in 2019 was signing a constitutional carry bill that allowed for concealed carry without a permit.

The NRAs political donation wing, the NRA of America Political Victory Fund, has also donated to Noems political career, especially when she served in Congress. Between 2011 and 2016, the NRA Political Victory Fund donated at least $7,000 to her House campaigns, according to federal campaign finance reports.

She's also had A-plus ratings and endorsements from the NRA ahead of elections.

Its not the first time Noem has spoken at an NRA convention. In May 2022, days after a gunman in Uvalde, Texas, killed 21 children and adults at a local elementary school, Noem told the audience at the NRA convention in Houston the U.S. needed a stronger gun lobby.

More: At NRA convention, Gov. Kristi Noem accuses Democrats of using tragedy to advance gun control agenda

This years NRA convention comes on the heels of two mass shootings in recent weeks across the United States, including a shooting at a private Catholic school in Tennessee where three children and three adults were killed.

At least 149 mass shootings have happened in the U.S. since January, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit group that tracks gun violence through police reports, news articles and other public sources.

Other expected speakers at the NRA leadership forum include former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, with video messages from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

Trump and Haley are currently running for the GOP nomination for the 2024 presidential race.

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Kristi Noem says 'I am the NRA' ahead of NRA 2023 national ... - Argus Leader

Charlie Kirk, the conservative founder and president of Turning Point USA, said during an organizational event on Wednesday that gun deaths in exchange for the preservation of Second Amendment rights is part of America's reality.

Kirk's comments come about one week after three children and three adults were killed at the Christian Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Nashville mass shooting was the 130th mass shooting in the United States in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive, an online database of gun violence incidents across America using data collected from law enforcement, media, government and commercial sources.

The U.S. has averaged more than one mass shooting per day since the start of 2023, per the archive, which puts the nation on track to exceed the 647 recorded mass shootings of 2022.

"You will never live in a society when you have an armed citizenry and you won't have a single gun death," Kirk said at a Turning Point USA Faith event on Wednesday, as reported by Media Matters for America. "That is nonsense. It's drivel. But I amI think it's worth it.

"I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational. Nobody talks like this. They live in a complete alternate universe."

He added that "having an armed citizenry comes with a price, and that is part of liberty." Other solutions he mentioned included armed guards at school buildings, as well as "having more fathers in the home."

Kirk also compared gun deaths to fatalities resulting from automobile accidents.

"Having an armed citizenry comes with a price, and that is part of liberty," he said. "Driving comes with a price50,000, 50,000, 50,000 people die on the road every year. That's a price. You get rid of driving, you'd have 50,000 less auto fatalities. But we have decided that the benefit of drivingspeed, accessibility, mobility, having products, services is worth the cost of 50,000 people dying on the road.

"So we need to be very clear that you're not going to get gun deaths to zero. It will not happen. You could significantly reduce them through having more fathers in the home, by having more armed guards in front of schools. We should have a honest and clear reductionist view of gun violence, but we should not have a utopian one."

However, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data analyzed by The Trace, firearm injuries now represent the 12th leading cause of death in the U.S. and have surpassed car crashes in five consecutive years.

There were 48,832 gun-related deaths in 2021 per CDC datathe highest single-year number on record and up 8 percent compared to 2020.

The New England Journal of Medicine, also citing CDC data, reported that in 2020 firearm-related injuries became the leading cause of death in individuals between 1 and 19 years of agesurpassing both traffic-related and nontraffic-related deaths for the first time.

On Wednesday, in response to the Nashville shooting, students walked out of class at reportedly more than 300 schools in 42 states and Washington, D.C., as a national call for gun safety legislation, according to StudentsDemandAction.org. It was organized by Students Demand Action and Moms Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety's grassroots network.

"The fact that guns are the leading killer of children and teens and more than 40,000 people are killed by guns every year in this country is not 'a prudent deal'it's an obscene tragedy," Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, told Newsweek via email in response to Kirk's remarks. "Gun safety laws are proven to save lives and are constitutional. Any suggestion otherwise is shilling for the gun industry as they seek to maximize profits with no regard for the safety of our children."

A Gallup poll conducted in February found that 63 percent of Americans were dissatisfied with U.S. gun lawsthe highest number in 23 years of surveys. Responses were mostly across party lines, with Democrats and the majority of independents expressing discontent with gun laws and believing that gun control legislation has not gone far enough.

"While I hate to give oxygen to a radical carnival barker like Charlie Kirk, it's important that people hear the facts," Chris Harris, vice president of gun control group GIFFORDS, told Newsweek via email. "The truth is, this is a false choice concocted by the gun lobby. We can affirm law-abiding Americans' right to bear arms while simultaneously protecting innocent people from being gunned down at work, school or church.

"That's why the vast majority of gun owners support common sense gun laws to keep deadly weapons away from people at clear risk of harming themselves or others."

Kris Brown, president of gun control organization Brady, told Newsweek via email that Americans' concerns about gun violencefrom school shootings to violent street crimecontinue to climb their priorities list and is signifying a shift in the political status quo.

She said the time has passed for excuses and "thoughts and prayers."

"I would dare Mr. Kirk to ask the parents and family of a gun violence victim if they believe their child's life was worth an extremist view of the Second Amendment that allows anyone, anywhere to own and carry a weapon of war," Brown said. "That is the reality too many American families face every day, when they get that phone call and are told they will never see their child alive again because of this country's lax gun laws."

Last week, House Democrats called on Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan to schedule a vote on an assault weapons ban.

California Representative Mike Thompson also again put forward background check legislation, saying Republicans are not "serious" about protecting Americans.

Thompson told Newsweek via email that Kirk's statements are "asinine."

"Who chooses which lives Charlie Kirk wants to sacrifice?" Thompson said. "Reasonable and responsible people know you can save lives and protect our Second Amendment."

Newsweek reached out to Turning Point USA for comment.

Update 4/6/23, 9:06 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.

Correction 4/6/23, 9:45 p.m. ET: The headline on this article has been changed to add proper context to Charlie Kirk's comments. We regret the error.

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Charlie Kirk Says Gun Deaths 'Unfortunately' Worth it to Keep 2nd Amendment - Newsweek

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled today that a Supreme Court decision last year that lets people pack guns for protection outside the home means it has no choice but to overturn a Boston man's conviction for the gun and bullets Boston and Watertown police found in his glove box - but the court upheld his 2 1/2 to 3-year sentence for one of the magazines they also found.

The ruling does not strike down the Massachusetts gun-control law, one of the strictest in the nation, but means prosecutors will have to present evidence that somebody they are prosecuting broke the law by not getting a permit for the weapon. Before today's decision, it was up to defendants to prove they had a license - prosecutors did not have prove that they did not have one.

In Carlos Guardado's case, which stems from his 2019 arrest in the parking lot of an auto-parts store on Arsenal Street in Watertown, prosecutors did not present evidence that Guardado had a license for the silver handgun or several bullets, which police found after being tipped off by an informant who knew him, because up until last year's Supreme Court decision, Massachusetts law mostly considered guns illegal in the absence of a license, which left the proof burden up to defendants.

The state's highest court concluded that when the Supreme Court specifically stated that carrying a gun outside the home for personal protection was a Constitutional right, it shifted the courtroom evidence balance - Massachusetts defendants should not have to prove anything in court about a gun they're found with, instead, it is up to prosecutors to prove defendants did something wrong, which in Massachusetts means failing to register a gun.

The Commonwealth may impose licensing requirements upon the possession of firearms, but in enforcing those requirements, it must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant failed to comply with them.

The court continued, however, that the Supreme Court's decision only applied to guns that somebody could use for personal protection, and that large-capacity magazines don't fit that definition.

We previously have held that G. L. c. 140, 131M, a statute that proscribes possession of large capacity feeding devices, "is not prohibited by the Second Amendment, because the right [to bear arms] 'does not protect those weapons not typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes.'" Cassidy, 479 Mass. at 540.

The court rejected arguments by Guardado's attorney that all the charges should be tossed in part because even Massachusetts law allows somebody to have a gun at his place of business and because the warrantless search that led to the discovery of the gun violated his Fourth Amendment rights.

The court concluded that although Guardado was arrested in the parking lot of the auto-parts store where he worked, the parking lot was shared with a neighboring company and there was nothing marking off any part of the lot as just for auto-parts customers and workers, so it wasn't technically part of his workplace.

The court also found that the police from either side of the Charles had enough reason for an emergency search of Guardado's car based on the tip from an informant who had provided correct information in the past to Boston Police and who gave specific enough information about Guardado's car and gun to look for the weapon, even if it was in the glove compartment rather than the backpack the informant said it was in.

The court added that because they were responding to a gun control, a Watertown detective had the right to pat frisk Guardado out of fear he might have a weapon on him that he could use against officers.

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Court says way Boston man was convicted on illegal gun and ammo ... - Universal Hub