There’s one phrase that Scigliano chose not to use to describe CHOP, though it may be more apt than a “street fair”: a Second Amendment Sanctuary. There’s plenty of evidence that the protesters occupying the Capitol Hill neighborhood aren’t paying much attention at all to the state’s gun control laws, like this video that captured CHOP leader Raz Simone handing out rifles to defend the zone.
Last time I checked, Washington State has a “universal background check” law requiring the vast majority of gun transfers to go through a background check conducted by a federally licensed firearms dealer. There are some exemptions to the law, but it would appear that none would apply to the transaction caught on video. According to the state statute, these are the only circumstances in which a firearm can be legally transferred without a background check.
(a) A transfer between immediate family members, which for this subsection shall be limited to spouses, domestic partners, parents, parents-in-law, children, siblings, siblings-in-law, grandparents, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, first cousins, aunts, and uncles, that is a bona fide gift or loan;
(b) The sale or transfer of an antique firearm;
(c) A temporary transfer of possession of a firearm if such transfer is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to the person to whom the firearm is transferred if:
(i) The temporary transfer only lasts as long as immediately necessary to prevent such imminent death or great bodily harm; and
(ii) The person to whom the firearm is transferred is not prohibited from possessing firearms under state or federal law;
(d) A temporary transfer of possession of a firearm if: (i) The transfer is intended to prevent suicide or self-inflicted great bodily harm; (ii) the transfer lasts only as long as reasonably necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm; and (iii) the firearm is not utilized by the transferee for any purpose for the duration of the temporary transfer;
(e) Any law enforcement or corrections agency and, to the extent the person is acting within the course and scope of his or her employment or official duties, any law enforcement or corrections officer, United States marshal, member of the armed forces of the United States or the national guard, or federal official;
(f) A federally licensed gunsmith who receives a firearm solely for the purposes of service or repair, or the return of the firearm to its owner by the federally licensed gunsmith;
(g) The temporary transfer of a firearm (i) between spouses or domestic partners; (ii) if the temporary transfer occurs, and the firearm is kept at all times, at an established shooting range authorized by the governing body of the jurisdiction in which such range is located; (iii) if the temporary transfer occurs and the transferee’s possession of the firearm is exclusively at a lawful organized competition involving the use of a firearm, or while participating in or practicing for a performance by an organized group that uses firearms as a part of the performance; (iv) to a person who is under eighteen years of age for lawful hunting, sporting, or educational purposes while under the direct supervision and control of a responsible adult who is not prohibited from possessing firearms; (v) under circumstances in which the transferee and the firearm remain in the presence of the transferor; or (vi) while hunting if the hunting is legal in all places where the person to whom the firearm is transferred possesses the firearm and the person to whom the firearm is transferred has completed all training and holds all licenses or permits required for such hunting, provided that any temporary transfer allowed by this subsection is permitted only if the person to whom the firearm is transferred is not prohibited from possessing firearms under state or federal law;
(h) A person who (i) acquired a firearm other than a pistol by operation of law upon the death of the former owner of the firearm or (ii) acquired a pistol by operation of law upon the death of the former owner of the pistol within the preceding sixty days. At the end of the sixty-day period, the person must either have lawfully transferred the pistol or must have contacted the department of licensing to notify the department that he or she has possession of the pistol and intends to retain possession of the pistol, in compliance with all federal and state laws; or
(i) A sale or transfer when the purchaser or transferee is a licensed collector and the firearm being sold or transferred is a curio or relic.
Gov. Jay Inslee’s had some pretty harsh words in the past for Second Amendment Sanctuaries that have been declared in Washington State. Last year, when he was still engaged in his brief run for the Democratic presidential nomination, Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson penned a letter to firearms dealers in the state reminding them that compliance with the state’s gun laws isn’t optional.
“Despite what some of these sheriffs would have people believe, no one has the ability to pick and choose which laws to follow,” said Inslee, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president. Inslee added: “Our state’s voters overwhelmingly approved stronger background checks and gun safety measures, and dealers will be required to comply with those laws.”
Now, of course, Inslee has been silent on the armed protesters and violations of Washington State law. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which has repeatedly called for more gun control laws, hasn’t written a word about the armed protesters flouting existing laws. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan’s been mum as well.
If the occupiers of CHAZ or CHOP or the People’s Republic of Capitol Hill aren’t going to pay attention to the state’s gun laws, and the state’s law enforcement and politicians aren’t going to pay any attention to the violation of those laws by protesters, why should anyone else pay attention to the laws either?
Personally, I think the state’s background check law is a joke, and I’d be perfectly happy if Inslee came out and said that it was a mistake to put it on the books. I don’t see that happening, however. What I see are politicians who now want to selectively enforce the state’s gun control laws depending on where you live and what your political orientation may be. A conservative in Klickitat County? Better follow that law, you crazy insurrectionist. An anarchist in Seattle? Have fun storming the castle! It’s an egregious and obvious double standard, and the governor really shouldn’t be surprised when it results in more defiance and civil disobedience across the political spectrum.
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