Gun rights advocates: New gun safety agenda proof of slippery slope

On the heels of their win with the passage of gun safety measure I-1639, theAlliance for Gun Responsibility released its 2019 legislative priorities last week.

“This is the most robust agenda we’ve ever proposed,” said Tallman Trask with the alliance.

“Usually, we have a few little policies here and there that we’re looking to pass. This agenda includes about 14 items,” Trask said. 

Among the more controversial aspects of the Alliance for Gun Responsibility’s agenda – a proposal that targets state preemption. This is a more than 30-year-old state law that prohibits local jurisdictions from enacting gun restrictions that go beyond what the state has on the books.

Unlike previous bills in the Legislature that sought to completely undo state preemption, Trask says this proposal would be narrower – and focus on ensuring cities, such as Seattle, have the ability to enact their own rules to restrict open carry in volatile situations, such as protests or in areas where kids are present such as parks.

“That amounts to an erosion of the state’s preemption statute,” according to Dave Workman at the GunMag.com.