New Year’s Day always brings about a slew of changes. Some come in the form of personal resolutions, others are new laws. For people in the state of Washington, they voted to enact more tyranny and government into their daily affairs. One of the major measures comes in the form of restricting gun ownership.
As first reported by Fox 13 Seattle, 18 state leaders had brought House Bill 1143 to the table in 2023. As a group, they decided something needed to change, and in their minds, more laws about guns would be the answer to lowering gun violence in the state. Led part by State Representative Liz Berry and Senator Strom Peterson, they introduced it in early January 2023, with Governor Inslee signing it into law on April 25th, along with other gun measures.
By law, they were required to wait until 1 Jan 2024 to enact the measures of this bill, while others were enacted immediately.
Called an Assault Weapons ban (fake term), legal guns can remain with their owners, and they can still be inherited. These weapons can be sold to dealers or law enforcement, and dealers can sell to out-of-state buyers, law enforcement, and those serving in the military. While the condition that everyone be licensed before buying a firearm was eliminated, the requirement to be trained was included.
Lawmakers were divided on the issue. Democratic State Senator Patty Kuderer of the 48th District, Bellevue, brought up suicides and how this wait could allow someone an opportunity to cool off. To not make a temporary problem into a permanent solution.
Oddly enough, Republican State Senator Lynda Wilson of the 17th District, Vancouver, posed a similar argument in the opposite direction. “There may be a mom with a couple of little girls and in a serious domestic violence situation. If even she finds the instructor, if she can afford the class, and if she can get into one of those classes that don’t exist today — she will still have to wait another 10 days after the purchase of the firearm to protect herself.”
Fox13 spoke with Wade Gaughran, the owner of Wade’s Eastside Guns, about the new process and how it all works. Naturally, Wade is hopeful the system will operate as intended, but he isn’t holding his breath. In his experience, things were working as they were intended to, and there wasn’t a need to make this kind of change. He said if it goes as he was told it would, it would be a 10 calendar-day wait, not government days; something that remains to be seen.
As Wade put it, they are now the middleman for these new laws and customers. “We’re the buffer there, right. Nobody gets to talk to the state patrol. Nobody’s calling State Patrol and asking, where is my background check? They’re calling us – where is my background check? I want to pick up my gun, the law says ten days… It’s just another business problem. I mean, if I wanted a simple life, I wouldn’t have sold guns. This is just a tough business. It’s always a tough business.”
Wade isn’t wrong, either. The gun business is incredibly rough. With liberals allowing more and more frivolous suits over gun deaths, dealers have a lot to be worried about when it comes to protecting their rights. Should a firearm they sold be used in a murder or suicide, some vulture lawyer is out there, ready and waiting to sue them. Carrying insurance is no longer in case somebody gets stupid inside the store, instead, it’s for the customers after they leave the store.
Waiting to use your Constitutionally protected Second Amendment right is an infringement on it, pure and simple. As we have seen in other states, this waiting period only adds to the costs and makes for some big problems for someone who needs protection now. Congrats Washington! You’ve made more victims of your law-abiding residents.
