I posted a little something on it yesterday and last month I told you why it is DOA. But I’ve been getting email (thanks Carl and Barron) and I decided to dig into it a little bit more.
From the bill itself (emphasis mine):
(20) “Assault weapon” means:
8 (a) Any semiautomatic pistol or semiautomatic or pump-action rifle
9 or shotgun that is capable of accepting a detachable magazine, with a
10 capacity to accept more then ten rounds of ammunition and that also
11 possesses any of the following:
12 (i) If the firearm is a rifle or shotgun, a pistol grip located
13 rear of the trigger;
14 (ii) If the firearm is a rifle or shotgun, a stock in any
15 configuration, including but not limited to a thumbhole stock, a
16 folding stock or a telescoping stock, that allows the bearer of the
17 firearm to grasp the firearm with the trigger hand such that the web of
18 the trigger hand, between the thumb and forefinger, can be placed below
19 the top of the external portion of the trigger during firing;
20 (iii) If the firearm is a pistol, a shoulder stock of any type or
21 configuration, including but not limited to a folding stock or a
22 telescoping stock;
23 (iv) A barrel shroud;
24 (v) A muzzle brake or muzzle compensator;
25 (vi) Any feature capable of functioning as a protruding grip that
26 can be held by the hand that is not the trigger hand;
27 (b) Any pistol that is capable of accepting a detachable magazine
28 at any location outside of the pistol grip;
29 (c) Any semiautomatic pistol, any semiautomatic, center-fire rifle,
30 or any shotgun with a fixed magazine that has the capacity to accept
31 more than ten rounds of ammunition;
32 (d) Any shotgun capable of accepting a detachable magazine;
33 (e) Any shotgun with a revolving cylinder;
34 (f) Any conversion kit or other combination of parts from which an
35 assault weapon can be assembled if the parts are in the possession or
36 under the control of any person.
37 (21) “Detachable magazine” means a magazine, the function of which
is to deliver one or more ammunition cartridges into the firing
2 chamber, which can be removed from the firearm without the use of any
3 tool, including a bullet or ammunition cartridge.
4 (22) “Barrel shroud” means a covering, other than a slide, that is
5 attached to, or that substantially or completely encircles, the barrel
6 of a firearm and that allows the bearer of the firearm to hold the
7 barrel with the nonshooting hand while firing the firearm, without
8 burning that hand, except that the term does not include an extension
9 of the stock along the bottom of the barrel that does not substantially
10 or completely encircle the barrel.
11 (23) “Muzzle brake” means a device attached to the muzzle of a
12 weapon that utilizes escaping gas to reduce recoil.
13 (24) “Muzzle compensator” means a device attached to the muzzle of
14 a weapon that utilizes escaping gas to control muzzle movement.
15 (25) “Conversion kit” means any part or combination of parts
16 designed and intended for use in converting a firearm into an assault
17 weapon.
Notice that some pump action guns are considered “assault weapons” by these bigots.
Notice that the firearm has to have a detachable magazine and any of the evil characteristics. In the 1994 Federal AWB it had to have two of the additional characterisitics.
Notice that muzzle breaks and compensators are considered evil enough to make a firearm an AW. That would appear to make all Glock “C” models outlawed under this proposal.
And people like Dennis Henigan (Lethal Logic chapter 3) claim there is no slippery slope.
The line about “any tool, including a bullet or cartridge” appears to be in severe need of rewriting. I can’t make sense of it as it stands. I’m sure the Seattle bigots heard the California bigots whining about the manufactures making “California legal” firearms with a receiver that allows the magazine can be removed with a cartrige used as tool and hence complies with the law. I guess they didn’t hear about the ring worn on your finger than does the same thing.
Also of note is that the grandfathering of existing ownership is more than little harsh:
16 (5) In order to continue to possess an assault weapon that was
17 legally possessed on the effective date of this section, the person
18 possessing the assault weapon shall do all of the following:
19 (a) Safely and securely store the assault weapon. The sheriff of
20 the county may, no more than once per year, conduct an inspection to
21 ensure compliance with this subsection;
22 (b) Possess the assault weapon only on property owned or
23 immediately controlled by the person, or while engaged in the legal use
24 of the assault weapon at a duly licensed firing range, or while
25 traveling to or from either of these locations for the purpose of
26 engaging in the legal use of the assault weapon, provided that the
27 assault weapon is stored unloaded and in a separate locked container
28 during transport.
So in order to exercise your specific enumerate right to keep bear firearms in common use (most of my firearms would be illegal by this definition) you have to allow the sheriff to annually inspect your firearm storage–with no guidance on what is considered “safely and securely”.
A person would not be allowed to transport the firearm under any number of important situations such as to the gunsmith, a hunting trip, out of state for sale or as a gift. Let alone carry one on a daily basis as I do.
And what is it with “duly licensed firing range”? A search of the Washington State Department of Licensing website turned up nothing.
Also note that a couple of the bigots who proposed the law wrote an error filled opinion piece in the Everett Herald.
As other have said–we win because the other side is stupid. They are apparently nearly completely blinded by their own bigotry. But isn’t that nearly always the case with bigots?
