Once upon a time, Washington state was a fairly pro-gun place. They still have a shall-issue law on concealed carry, which is usually a safe marker of whether a state is pro- or anti-gun. With Washington, though, you can’t go by that. Of course, it’s only a matter of time before they likely try to change that.
In the meantime, they want to expand their list of off-limits places where people with those permits can carry a firearm.
A person bringing a gun or other weapon in or near a child care center could be charged with a gross misdemeanor under a bill passed Tuesday by the Legislature.
Family day care providers would be required to operate “gun free zones,” storing ammunition, firearms and other weapons securely when children are present, according to the bill, which was sent to the governor on a 56-40 vote.
So, let me get this straight. Not only do anti-gun lawmakers want to screw over law-abiding gun owners, but they also want to jack up the costs for daycare facilities, many of which are small businesses?
One legislator argued that the law will bring “peace of mind” supposedly knowing that these kids are protected.
They’re not, though.
You see, a law like this only protects these kids from the very people who aren’t a threat in the first place. If someone wants to shoot up a child care facility, do you think a sticker or sign on the door and a few lockers just inside is going to stop them?
Plus, as one opponent of the measure notes, guns aren’t the problem anyway.
But Rep. Robert Sutherland, R-Granite Falls, said that while guns are being called dangerous weapons for children, the same thing could be said about kitchen knives, forks, baseball bats and other items that can hurt people.
“Guns are not dangerous,” he said. “People that use guns in a violent way are dangerous.”
Sutherland is completely correct. Plenty of people are killed with knives, bats and even bare hands each and every year. There’s no move to restrict those, to keep them out of child care facilities.
Plus, let’s also note that the article argues that even being near such a facility with a firearm is unlawful, and that’s a huge problem. After all, just going for a walk could land someone with a gross misdemeanor charge simply because they walked down the wrong street with a firearm.
Not that any of the anti-gun lawmakers care about that. We’re not people to them. We’re obstinant rabble that needs to be brought to heel in their minds. A little bit of prosecution making it even more difficult to comply with the state’s growing list of draconian anti-gun measures is just what they want.
Either that or to chase law-abiding citizens out of the state.
The thing is, I’ve got a number of friends in Washington state and they’re not going anywhere. It’s only a matter of time before the pendulum swings the other way, then there are going to be a lot of legislators out of a job.
As they should be.
In the meantime, though, they’re going to do a lot of damage to the state’s gun laws.
