By Philip Van Cleave
Covington VA –-(Ammoland.com)- Washington State gun owners were handed a serious gun-control defeat Tuesday in a referendum.
By a 60% – 40% vote, they are going to be saddled with a Universal Background Check law.
This is the first step toward what will eventually be Universal Registration of all their guns. Confiscation being the end goal of the scheme.
While you may wonder how this might affect you, it is one of those things like the “assault weapon ban” in 1993, where the anti-liberty groups are counting on deception and ignorance to strip away your rights.
They will now be trying to do this in other states, including ours, eventually. To avoid this becoming our fate, we need to start a massive education effort for both gun owners and non-gun owners alike. More on that in an upcoming alert announcing the beginning of that campaign and how you can help.
This was a case of getting all the gun control that money can buy. Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg and other anti-liberty billionaires poured millions of dollars into Washington State to pass this atrocity using deceptive ads.
Gun-rights groups are looking at challenging the law on constitutional grounds, amongst other things. Let’s hope they are successful.
Here’s an article on the referendum, titled “The Gun-Control Movement is Learning How to Win:” https://google.com/newsstand/s/CBIwkoLO5B8
Here is a description of the new law from a Washington State government web site. You can bet that all the exceptions in the law will come under fire and will be removed as time goes on.
For now they have put a little sugar on the poison pill:
This measure would apply the background check requirements currently used for firearm sales by licensed dealers to all firearm sales and transfers where at least one party is in Washington. Background checks would thus be required not only for sales and transfers of firearms through firearms dealers, but also at gun shows, online, and between unlicensed private individuals. Background checks would be required for any sale or transfer of a firearm, whether for money or as a gift or loan, with specific exceptions described below. Background checks would be required whether the firearm involved is a pistol or another type of firearm. Violations of these requirements would be crimes.
The measure would establish a number of exceptions to the background check requirement. A background check would not be required to transfer a firearm by gift between family members. The background check requirement also would not apply to the sale or transfer of antique firearms. It also would not apply to certain temporary transfers of a firearm when needed to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm. Background checks would not be required for certain public agencies or officers acting in their official capacity, including law enforcement or corrections agencies or officers, members of the military, and federal officials. Federally licensed gunsmiths who receive firearms solely to service or repair them would not be required to undergo background checks.
Certain other temporary transfers of a firearm would also not require a background check. These include temporary transfers between spouses, and temporary transfers for use at a shooting range, in a competition, or for performances. A temporary transfer to a person under age eighteen for hunting, sporting, or education would not require a background check. Other temporary transfers for lawful hunting also would not require a background check.
A person who inherited a firearm other than a pistol upon the death of its former owner would not be required to undergo a background check. A person who inherited a pistol would either have to lawfully transfer the pistol within 60 days or inform the department of licensing that he or she intended to keep the pistol.
Firearms could only be sold or transferred through licensed firearms dealers. If neither party to the sale or transfer of a firearm was a firearms dealer, then a firearms dealer would have to assist in the sale or transfer. Before a sale or transfer could be completed, a firearms dealer would perform the background check on the buyer or recipient of the firearm. If the background check determined that the buyer or recipient of the firearm was ineligible to possess a firearm, the firearms dealer would return the firearm to the seller or transferor. The firearms dealer could charge a fee for these services.
Firearms dealers could not deliver any firearm to a buyer or recipient until receiving background check results showing that the buyer or recipient can legally possess the firearm. But a firearms dealer could deliver a firearm if background check results were not received within ten business days (as opposed to the five business days currently allowed to conduct the check). If the buyer or recipient did not have a valid permanent Washington driver’s license or identification card, or had been a Washington resident for less than 90 days, then the time period for delivery of a pistol would be extended from ten days to 60 days, the same as under current law.
If a firearms dealer violates this measure, his or her license could be revoked. The violation would also be reported to federal authorities.
Sales tax would not apply to the sale or transfer of firearms between people who are not licensed firearms dealers, so long as they comply with all background check requirements. Using a licensed firearms dealer to assist with such sales or transfers would not result in sales or use tax.
About:
Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right. Visit: www.vcdl.org