Background checks, rifle bans and proposed gun laws would not have stopped Washington school shooting
The new IB Times article begins “Washington state voters are supporting stricter background checks on gun sales in the wake of the Marysville-Pilchuck High School shooting last week” as support appears to be rising for two gun law initiatives set for a mid-term election vote.
Sadly, neither bill would have done anything to prevent the firearm from ending up in the hands of the shooter.
Washington actually has two competing gun-related mesaures on its midterm ballot. Initiative 594, which requires background checks on all gun sales, would close the “gun show loophole.” Initiative 591, however, would forbid the state from requesting background checks any harsher than the ones called for under federal law, the Seattle Times reported.
“Results showed that 52 percent of respondents were certain they would vote yes on I-594. About 9 percent said they planned to vote yes, but their opinion could change, and about 3 percent were undecided but leaning toward voting yes. About 26 percent said they were certain they’d vote no…On the flip side, about 34 percent of voters said they were certain they’d vote yes on I-591. Roughly the same amount said they were certain they’d vote no,” summarized the IB Times.
The shooter Jaylen Fryberg used a .40-caliber Beretta handgun belonging to one of his relatives. The gun was legally bought and registered, police told the Seattle Times, but it’s unclear how Fryberg got the weapon.
Bloomberg’s group Everytown for Gun Safety has donated $2.3 million for Initiative 594. Moms Demand Action, part of Bloomberg’s group, also issued a statement within hours of the school shooting, pushing for a Yes Vote in I-594.
I-594 would not have stopped this shooting however.
The National Rifle Association noted in a release that a majority of the state’s 39 sheriffs oppose Initiative 594.
“The sheriffs oppose I-594 because it will not make anyone safer, will strain scarce law enforcement resources, will criminalize the lawful behavior of millions of law-abiding gun owners in Washington and will be unenforceable,” the NRA said. “Instead, I-594 would vastly expand the state’s handgun registry and force law-abiding gun owners to pay fees and get the government’s permission to sell or even loan a firearm to a friend or family member.”
“I-594 is just another attempt to erode the Second Amendment,” said Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich of Spokane County. Sheriff Alan Botzheim, of Pend Orielle County, said, “[I-594] is focused on honest hardworking citizens and making them criminals when they are not criminals.”
