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Washington Law Enforcement Opposes Initiative 1639

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VOTE "NO" on INITIATIVE 1639

Washington voters who support the Second Amendment are urged to oppose Initiative 1639, which poses multiple threats to gun rights and puts law-abiding citizens in jeopardy, without any significant impact on violent crime. This lengthy (30-page) ballot initiative is just the latest in a series of gun-control ballot initiatives sponsored by the “Alliance for Gun Responsibility” and bankrolled by tech billionaires and anti-gun interest groups.

Initiative 1639 Would Make Firearms Unavailable for Self-Defense

Initiative 1639 Would Make Firearms Unavailable for Self-Defense

I-1639 would require gun owners to lock up their firearms or face criminal charges. This strict mandate renders firearms useless in a self-defense situation by requiring them to be locked up. The difference between someone saving their family and becoming a victim of crime sometimes comes down to a few crucial seconds. These storage laws may steal those valuable seconds from the people who need them.

I-1639 Strips Adults Aged 18 to 20 of Their Constitutional Right to Self-Defense

I-1639 Strips Adults Aged 18 to 20 of Their Constitutional Right to Self-Defense

Currently, adults aged 18-20 are prohibited from purchasing or receiving a handgun. I-1639 would expand the current law by prohibiting such law-abiding young adults from purchasing or receiving any semi-automatic rifle.  I-1639 would leave already vulnerable segments of the population defenseless to attack

I-1639 is unlikely to have the impact on violent crime it promises

I-1639 is unlikely to have the impact on violent crime it promises

Handguns- not rifles- are used in the majority of crimes committed with a firearm in Washington. Targeting rifle ownership will only restrict law-abiding adults from accessing them for self-defense, home protection, and hunting.

I-1639 would burden small businesses and law enforcement while placing personal information at risk.

I-1639 would burden small businesses and law enforcement while placing personal information at risk.

Allows the government to collect and use gun owner information to enforce compliance and authorize gun confiscation. Under I-1639, data collected during gun sales and transfers could be used to enforce a new state “verification” process to ensure that persons are not in “illegal possession.

Remind Me When It's Time To Vote

 

I-1639 Is Flawed, Misguided and Coming for You Anyway

Supporters of I-1639 hope that Washington voters believe the lies that gun control advocates have been busy spreading for decades. Don’t be fooled: The measures included here will do nothing to address the underlying causes of gun crime.

LIE

Initiative 1639 only regulates “assault weapons,” and won’t affect hunting rifles and target shooting guns.

TRUTH

This Initiative adopts a new and bizarre definition of a “semiautomatic assault rifle.” Under this definition, many hunting guns, competitive shooting rifles, and target-shooting guns that match the current definition of “rifle” under current Washington State law would all become “assault rifles.” This definition goes beyond what has been used in other “assault weapon” bills and sweeps in any semiautomatic rifle, regardless of configuration or caliber. Popular rimfire rifles like the Ruger 10-22, Remington 597, or Marlin Model 60, lawfully used by countless young adults for recreational target shooting and small-game hunting, are included. These aren’t “machine guns” or “weapons of war” and aren’t regulated as such by the federal government.

LIE

Initiative 1639 incentivizes secure storage practices and makes sure gun buyers are aware of risks.

TRUTH

I-1639 would require gun owners to lock up their firearms or face criminal charges. This strict mandate renders firearms useless in a self-defense situation by requiring them to be locked up. The United States Supreme Court invalidated a similar law as a violation of the Second Amendment, but I-1639’s proponents are nonetheless seeking to create this unconstitutional requirement in Washington.

LIE

I’m over 21 years old, so this won’t affect me as a buyer or owner of a semiautomatic rifle, right?

TRUTH

Not true. Under the Initiative, you will pay a new $25 tax on all sales and transfers of these guns, face a longer waiting period, and be subject to expanded background check and documentation requirements. To be eligible to buy or acquire these guns, you will have to show proof of having completed the new training required. You will be prohibited from selling or transferring the gun unless the sale or transfer complies with the new restrictions (for example, no sales to anyone under 21). In addition to the $25 tax, the cost of acquiring an “assault rifle” (any semi-automatic rifle) will have to include the fee for the new training and any fees gun dealers will add to cover their time and expenses in complying with this new law. The storage law in the Initiative will restrict how you store the gun (and any other firearms) at home and in all other places, and impose criminal liability for a violation.

LIE

I-1639 will reduce crime by prohibiting 18-20 year old adults from purchasing semi-automatic rifles.

TRUTH

Handguns- not rifles- are used in the majority of crimes committed with a firearm in Washington. Targeting rifle ownership will only restrict law-abiding adults from accessing them for self-defense, home protection, and hunting.

LIE

I-1639 is a grassroots movement to pass safer gun laws.

TRUTH

Hardly. The truth is I-1639 is being funded and run by gun control organizations and a handful of anti-gun tech billionaires who want to destroy the Evergreen State's proud traditions and support for our fundamental right to self-defense. 92% of the $4.4 million in contributions in support of this initiative came from just 10 donors. 78% of contributions to this initiative came from just three families (Paul Allen, Nicolas and Leslie Hanauer and Steven and Connie Ballmer). As of July 31, the top 10 contributors have donated over $4,061,572 to put this gun control initiative on the ballot.

Washington Public Disclosure Commission

LIE

There is no reason for a civilian to own an “assault weapon.”

TRUTH

So-called “assault weapons” are simply semi-automatic rifles, which were first introduced in the 19th century, not the fully automatic military-grade weapons some claim they are. Semi-automatic rifles are used for the same purposes as other firearms, including self-defense, hunting, and recreational and competitive target shooting. As an example, semi-automatics are the only rifles used in the annual National Rifle Matches. AR-15s are the most commonly used rifles in marksmanship competitions, training and home defense.

LIE

Banning or restricting so-called “assault weapons” would prevent crime.

TRUTH

Even assuming that the semiautomatic rifles being restricted by this initiative are “assault weapons," congressionally mandated study of the federal “assault weapon ban” of 1994-2004 found that the ban had no impact on crime, in part because “the banned guns were never used in more than a modest fraction of gun murders” (Urban Institute). Rifles of any type are used in only 2 percent of murders. (FBI). Furthermore, murder rates were 19.3 percent higher when the federal [assault weapon] ban was in effect.

LIE

1639 only affects persons under 21 by raising the purchase age to 21 for semiautomatic “assault weapons."

TRUTH

I-1639 would classify all semi-automatic rifles as "assault weapons" if enacted into law. The Initiative generally makes possession of an “assault rifle” a crime for anyone under 21 years old, even for those who purchased and possessed the gun lawfully in the past. The language of the Initiative does not clearly indicate what will be allowed as exceptions. The explicit exceptions do not include activities like lawful hunting, competitive shooting, or transport of guns to a gunsmith. Some of the most popular rimfire rifles in America, including the Ruger 10-22, Remington 597 and Marlin 60, would be labeled as "assault weapons" under I-1639.

LIE

“Assault weapons” are used in most mass shootings.

TRUTH

According to a Statistica study of mass shootings between 1982 and June 2017, handguns, not rifles, are most commonly used in mass shootings. Gun control supporters are wrong to claim that “assault weapons” are used in most mass shootings. While the media focus on this false narrative, mass murders have been committed with firearms of all types, and without firearms of any type.

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Latest news

Breitbart.com  

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Federal Judge Refuses to Dismiss NRA/SAF Suit Against Washington Gun Control external link

On Tuesday a federal judge rejected a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against Washington’s gun control Initiative 1639. I-1639 took effect January 1, 2019, and UPI reported that it “bans the sale of semi-automatic weapons to anyone ...

Washington I1639  

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Washington: Lawsuit Against I-1639 Proceeds After Motion To Dismiss Denied

On May 20th, the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington rejected a motion by ...

CNN  

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Washington's Attorney General Says He'll Defend Gun Law Some Sheriffs Call Unconstitutional external link

Police chiefs who refuse to enforce Washington state's new gun restrictions could be liable if that refusal results in someone buying a gun and committing a crime, state Attorney General Bob Ferguson says.

Patch.com  

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

I-1639 Lawsuit Removes Ferguson, Adds Police Chief And Sheriff external link

The gun rights groups suing to overturn the voter-approved gun safety initiative I-1639 have refiled the suit, naming new defendants, including the Spokane police chief and the Clark County Sheriff. The National Rifle Association and ...

Spokesman-Review  

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Three more Eastern Washington sheriffs say they won’t enforce gun control initiative external link

Three more Eastern Washington sheriffs said Monday they will not enforce a state gun-control law that voters passed in November. The sheriffs in Grant, Lincoln and Okanogan counties joined at least seven other county sheriffs ...

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