“In Tuesday’s vote count, nearly 60 percent of voters were supporting I-594, which would extend background checks in Washington state to private sales and transfers,” seattletimes.com reports. “The measure was winning in eight of the 10 largest counties in the state. A competing measure, Initiative 591, which would bar the state from enacting any background checks more extensive than federal law, was being rejected by 55 percent of voters in the initial count.” As Jeremy stated before, bad news indeed. Predictably enough, the anti-gun initiative is coming soon to a state near you . . .
Everytown for Gun Safety is gathering signatures for a similar initiative in Nevada, and future campaigns are being planned for Arizona and Maine, according to [Everytown for Gn Safety President John] Feinblatt.
Alan Gottlieb, chair of the Yes on 591 campaign said he was considering legal action against I-594. He said he would lobby the state Legislature to either toss the initiative or amend it, on the grounds that it poses too many complications for law enforcement and gun owners.
Not to mention the fact that background checks are a form of registration that leads to confiscation – because then Alan would have to decry ALL background checks for firearms sales, including the federal NICS check. And that’s about as politically palatable as repealing no-smoking bans in maternity wards.