Having become “ground zero” in the gun rights battle, Washington State has seen no slowdown by Second Amendment activists pushing to “take back” their state from billionaire-backed gun prohibition lobbyists and elitist anti-gunners, as at least two planned events—one later this month and one in January—underscore.
The Gun Rights Coalition has announced its Jan. 17, 2020 “Lobby Day” in Olympia, just a couple of weeks into what many believe is going to be a busy session with gun control in the spotlight. With ardent anti-gun-rights State Rep. Laurie Jinkins stepping into the House Speaker’s role, rights advocates are concerned that many gun control bills will begin moving in a Legislature controlled by Democrats, with Democrat Gov. Jay Inslee eagerly waiting for bills to land on his desk.
The “Rally 4 UR Rights” begins at 9 a.m. in front of the State Capitol building, with activists meeting their local lawmakers later in the morning.
There have also been other activities scheduled in the months ahead, available on this Facebook page.
But months before that, on Oct. 19, the Morton Rifle & Pistol Club in eastern Lewis County is calling on people in the area and from beyond to sign a petition urging and supporting a proclamation declaring the City of Morton will not enforce provisions of anti-gun-rights Initiative 1639. That’s the measure passed last November that prohibits young adults ages 18-20 from buying and possessing so-called “semiautomatic assault rifles” and requiring people to show proof of taking a state-approved safety course before they can purchase any semi-auto rifle. It also puts a 10-day waiting period on the delivery of a semi-auto rifle.
According to Fred Ahrens with the Morton club, the rally will be held in downtown Morton in the parking lot of the Colton Pharmacy, adjacent to the Key Bank.
Scheduled to attend are Republic Police Chief Loren Culp, the first lawman to announce he would not enforce the initiative and who is now running for governor, plus Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer. Sheriff Songer has appeared on national television explaining his opposition to I-1639, which is now being challenged in U.S. District Court in Tacoma on Second and 14th Amendment grounds.
Culp will be speaking at the event.
The Morton event will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Ahrens said. That’s on the second weekend of the deer hunting season, he realizes, but it might also mean more people will be driving through the community who can stop and add their names to the petition.
