Mayor pushes gun laws.

[raevan]

Seattle Mayor pushing new laws.
________
Thursday, January 4, 2007 - Page updated at 12:00 AM

E-mail article Print view




Nickels seeks laws to keep guns from kids and criminals
By Natalie Singer

Seattle Times staff reporter

The timing was coincidental, but hours after a student was shot dead at a Tacoma high school, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels called on Washington lawmakers to pass new laws to keep guns away from children and criminals.

Aggravated assaults with a firearm in Seattle are up 48 percent since 2004, according to statistics Nickels cited at a news conference Wednesday morning. He wants Washington to become the eighth state in the nation to ban assault weapons and said recent crimes — including Wednesday morning's shooting in Tacoma and last year's fatal shootings on Capitol Hill and at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle — show that current gun laws aren't keeping people safe.

"We want our kids to be safe ... and we can't guarantee that anymore," he said.

Nickels also proposed stricter laws for buying guns at gun shows, as well as trigger locks and safe-storage requirements for firearms. He hopes his call for action will spur lawmakers to write and pass new legislation this session. Many of the suggestions have already been proposed as laws in years past but not enacted.

Not only are criminals getting a hold of too many weapons illegally, said Nickels and Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske, but children are using guns to hurt themselves and others.

Under previous proposals, parents who neglect to have trigger locks and safely store their guns would face up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine, Nickels said.

Only 13 percent of guns used in crimes and recovered in Seattle come from licensed dealers. The rest are obtained through other means, such as family members, theft and illegal dealers, according to statistics cited Wednesday.

Nickels made a similar plea in May shortly after returning from a mayors summit on illegal guns and gun violence in New York. He said he and the 14 other mayors in attendance want to see some common-sense changes to make sure illegal guns are kept off the streets.

But Joe Waldron, the executive director of the Bellevue-based Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and president of Washington Arms Collectors, which holds local gun shows, says Nickels' proposals would not have prevented any of the recent high-profile shootings.

He also argues that existing laws, such as the one that covers reckless endangerment, can already be applied to parents who irresponsibly allow their children access to guns.




"We want to keep out of the hands of criminals," Waldron said. "But we shouldn't make it harder for law-abiding citizens to own guns."


Natalie Singer: 206-464-2704 or nsinger@seattletimes.com


Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[retsupt99]

not Gun Control...

Although, I have noticed the huge increase in armed robbries...using Assault Rifles...expecially the flat tops with holographic scopes...clerks give up the money every time they see those deadly weapons...Baaaaaa.... "Save us from the AR's!" Baaaaaa...

Yeah, right...

ret

[srfl]

What do you expect from a city that actually has a statute of Lenin on public display?

[raevan]

Lenin? You mean the working Man by the Museum with the Ball and Chain?

the Seattle PI Another paper added this item.
__________________________________________________ _
"A ban on certain guns classified as assault weapons. Police say they have seized 140 of the weapons in the past five years, 37 of them
connected to violent crimes."
__________________________
They of course failed to mention that most of those not involved in a crime were confiscated for two different firearms collectors being investigated by BATF for other possible infractions.

[AirForceShooter]

No law ever stopped a crime.

AFS

[SammyIamToday]

What a great idea. Trigger locks on a gun in the house when you have kids so you can't protect your family from danger.

[dunndw]

Felons can't LEGALLY own guns
Children can' LEGALLY own guns

so...seeing as they are BREAKING the LAW by having guns...lets pass some MORE laws making it MORE illegal for criminals to have illegal guns.
Using that logic...I need more money...it's illegal for me to print my own money...so...I can print my OWN money because I need more.
anyone need a gazillion dollar bill? I think I'll use a picture of John Browning on the seal :-)

I find their lack of logic disturbing

[P95Carry]

"We want to keep out of the hands of criminals," Waldron said. "But we shouldn't make it harder for law-abiding citizens to own guns."

Unfortunately tho what these types plan will do exactly that - make life more awkward for the lawful gun owners while having about zero effect on armed crime.

There are boatloads of laws already in place - they need implementing.

[havegunjoe]

[QUOTE=raevan;267572]Seattle Mayor pushing new laws.
________
Thursday, January 4, 2007 - Page updated at 12:00 AM

E-mail article Print view




Nickels seeks laws to keep guns from kids and criminals
By Natalie Singer

Seattle Times staff reporter

The timing was coincidental, but hours after a student was shot dead at a Tacoma high school, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels called on Washington lawmakers to pass new laws to keep guns away from children and criminals.

Silly me, I thought it was already against the law to give guns to children and criminals. So do we need a new law that mandates we enforce the old law, or just new laws for criminals to ignore?

[MD_Willington]

I sent the following to my Legislators, hope it makes sense...

"Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is asking the state Legislature to adopt a series of gun control bills he hopes will "reduce the violence."

The proposals include a ban on assault weapons as well as state monitoring of gun dealers to see if there is any relationship between individual sellers and later use of guns in criminal activity. The proposals would also require background checks on persons buying guns at gun shows."

It occurs to me that the name of the game here is "feel good" legislation. It makes a lot of voters "feel good" to know that the good Mayor is looking out for them. That may be fine for his area of the state but why punish the rest of us in WA state?


From the FBI's "Firearms and Crime Statistics" web page: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/guns.htm

"According to the 1997 Survey of State Prison Inmates, among those possessing a gun, the source of the gun was from -

- a flea market or gun show for fewer than 2%

- a retail store or pawnshop for about 12%

- family, friends, a street buy, or an illegal source for 80%

During the offence that brought them to prison, 15% of State inmates and 13% of Federal inmates carried a handgun, and about 2%, a military-style semiautomatic gun.

On average, State inmates possessing a firearm received sentences of 18 years, while those without a weapon had an average sentence of 12 years.

Among prisoners carrying a firearm during their crime, 40% of State inmates and 56% of Federal inmates received a sentence enhancement because of the firearm. "


HB 1026 - 2007-08

(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (6) of this section, a person who, while at a gun show or event, offers to sell or transfer a firearm to another person must be licensed as a dealer under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 923 and post the license in accordance with 27 C.F.R. Secs. 178.91 and 178.100(a).

I am not a legal expert, but to me this looks like an underhanded way to dissolve all guns shows simply because it requires anyone selling a firearm to be a federally licensed firearms dealer.


(4) The Washington state patrol will establish a reasonable fee to cover costs for each background check conducted at a gun show or event.

This looks like they are just looking for a way to impose a new tax on anyone that purchases at a gun show.

Quite frankly I have never purchased a firearm at a gun show or events, and the ones that I have been to often offer overpriced used firearms I have no interest in buying, but I do not think a "knee jerk" reaction is necessary and will not dissuade criminals from obtaining firearms.

To recap:

... the source of the gun was from - a flea market or gun show for fewer than 2%

... 15% of State inmates and 13% of Federal inmates carried a handgun, and about 2%, a military-style semiautomatic gun.


2% & 2%... It occurs to me that this is passing the blame onto an inanimate object, grasping at straws and pandering for votes.



Thank you for the Honor of your time.


MD Willington

[CopperKnight]

<SIGH>

The city of Seattle has some problems and Washington has state preemption laws. So now the mayor of Seattle thinks I (400 miles away) need to needlessly suffer his restrictive laws because he can't keep the criminals in jail and off the street.

and again I say...

<SIGH>

[SGeringer]

Well, plenty of WA politicians would bust a nut passing this crap, but in reality they'll have an uphill battle.

For those who have never been to Seattle, it really is an amazing city...pretty damn clean for a big city, very alive with lots to do...a wonderful area to live, with excellent gun laws. But it's marred by that tub of lard mayor and what is possibly the worst big city police chief in modern America history....sure many cities have liberal ones, but he's SO inept it's painful.

[raevan]

Whenever I see people that want to "Close the gun show loop hole" I wonder if they have ever been to a gun show.

Here in the Seattle area, the 2 main gun Shows are put on by Washington Arms Collectors. The rule at the show is. No one can sell a Firearm who is not a member, No one can sell a firearm to someone who is not a member. When you become a member They take your info and a background check is done on you, or you have to present your CPL. In either case there has been a background check.

Any person violating these rules is ejected from the show, your membership is removed FOR YOUR LIFETIME. This includes if you do buisness outside the building. It of course won't stop sales done someother time away from the show/ Members are serious about this.