Gun Initiative May Harness Lawful Citizens, but Won’t Stop Criminals

We have all been horrified by gun vio­lence at the­aters, malls, schools and town hall meetings. As a former prosecuting attor­ney/ county coroner, I have also witnessed the tragic aftermath of violence. We all want it to end. But how?

Last year, numerous gun- control bills, including a universal background check measure, were introduced in the Legislature. These bills attracted the testimony of both gun-control and gun-rights advocates. The background checks measure was so divisive that, although it passed a committee, it failed to come to a vote on the House floor. This set up a showdown between the two groups. Each side collected signatures on two diamet­rically opposing initiatives. Although these measures qualified for the ballot, they were sent to the Legislature for possible consideration.

Initiative 594 would es­tablish universal background checks on all gun transfers in Washington. Initiative 591 would prevent the state from adopting universal background checks during gun sales.

I solidly support the second amendment of the United States' Constitution, which states, "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed," and Washington's Constitu­tion:

"The right of the indi­vidual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired." I am concerned Initiative 594 would impair these rights. Other reasons for my opposi­tion to Initiative 594 include:

The measure would cre­ate an enormous govern­ment database containing personal information of law-abiding citizens, which makes this a de facto gun registration initiative.

It would impose an un­enforceable and costly burden on law enforcement resources.

It is already a crime for felons to possess firearms or to submit false informa­tion on a background check application.

Supporters say it would "close a loophole" that al­lows people to purchase firearms at gun shows with­out background checks. However, gun shows are the source of less than 1 percent of firearms pos­sessed by criminals during the commission of a crime. There is no "loophole."

More than 98 percent of firearm owners are law- abiding and would likely comply. However, crimi­nals would completely ignore the law, avoiding background checks when obtaining firearms.

By the time someone de­cides to inflict injury or death upon innocent vic­tims by use of a firearm, that person has likely bro­ken other laws. One more gun control law would not stop a perpetrator with evil intent.

The Legislature has three options:

1. It could adopt one or both of these initiatives as writ­ten and they would go into law without the governor's signature;

2. The Legislature could propose its own alternative, in which case, both the origi­nal and alternative initiative are put before the people of Washington for a vote; or

3. The Legislature could de­cide not to take action on the initiative(s), in which case they would go to the Novem­ber general election ballot for you, the voter to decide.

While there have been hearings on both initiatives, it's becoming apparent the Legislature will take no ac­tion and allow the measures to proceed to the ballot, meaning you, the voter, will decide. We all want our neighbor­hoods and communities to remain safe. Gun violence is abhorrent and there is no magic single solution to end it. Certainly, we will not stop it by harnessing the constitu­tional rights of law-abiding citizens and removing their ability to protect themselves and those around them. In­stead, we must emphasize a higher priority toward addressing the root causes of gun violence - including mental health issues, gangs and economic despair - and work harder to aggressively enforce existing laws against criminals who would do us harm.