The backers of Washington State’s unconstitutional gun control ballot measure really don’t want you to know that over 90% of their funding has come from a handful of billionaires who are pushing hard for a totally disarmed populace. So whatever you do…don’t tell anyone.

Here’s the CCRKBA’s press release:

‘ANTI-GUNNERS GET DESPERATION DOLLARS TO PUSH I-1639,’ SAYS CCRKBA

BELLEVUE, WA – While their extremist gun control campaign is being largely funded by less than a dozen wealthy elitists, proponents of Initiative 1639 are feigning desperation in an effort to raise small donations to create the appearance of a populist movement, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

“This week,” noted CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “backers of the gun control initiative just got a $600,000 windfall from two billionaire couples and New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s gun control lobbying group to pass I-1639. Yet, they sent a mass email begging for donations while complaining that the real grassroots opposition to I-1639 is spending ‘big’ money to fight the measure. What they’re not saying is that they have raised and spent ten times as much money to push their draconian scheme.

“It’s disingenuous,” Gottlieb observed, “deceptive and dishonest. But, what else is new about anti-gunners?”

According to the state Public Disclosure Commission, the cash came from billionaires Steve and Connie Ballmer, and Nick and Leslie Hanauer, each donating $100,000 apiece. Another $200,000 came from Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety. In total, the Ballmers have donated $1.2 million, the Hanauers another $1,426,036, and Everytown has contributed $509,500. Add the $1,226,036 contributed by the late Paul Allen and the $100,000 each from Lenore Hanauer, Sibyl Frankenburg and Steven Kessel and it comes to a grand total of $4,661,572 of the $5,139,797.43 that the Safe Schools Safe Communities group sponsoring I-1639 has raised.

“Roughly 85 to 90 percent of the I-1639 funding has come from a handful of elitists who are determined to dictate how others live,” Gottlieb said, “and it bares the hypocrisy of I-1639 sponsors who complain about ‘out-of-state’ money influencing local gun policy. It’s time to stop this demagoguery and tell these billionaires that our self-defense rights, our medical privacy and the Second Amendment are not for sale.”

“Their fund raising appeal conveniently ignored the fact that Washington state’s rank-and-file law enforcement organizations are uniformly opposed to I-1639,” he continued. “That includes members of the Washington State Patrol Troopers Association, Washington State Sheriffs Association, Washington Council of Police & Sheriffs, Washington State Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors Association and Washington Fraternal Order of Police.

“You can support the effort to beat this initiative by visiting the ‘Vote No’ website,” Gottlieb added.

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With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (www.ccrkba.org) is one of the nation’s premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States.

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24 COMMENTS

  1. I-1639 reclassifies ALL modern semiautomatic rifles made since 1899 into “assault rifles”. You’re squirrel gun that you have had since the 1960s as a youth will now be an “assault rifle” and 18-20 year olds will be banned from purchasing modern repeating hunting rifles. I-1639 discriminates against minorities, middle class and others who are low income by increasing the cost to purchase and keep Modern rifles. Vote “NO” against I-1639 that criminalizes your right to self defense and discriminates financially against the middle class and underserved minorities to exerise their right to self defense.

    • This kind of overreach makes it a top contender to be overturned in court. It’s hard to uphold it in view of Heller, but the lower courts will anyway. That will just push the defeat higher where it will have more influence. Once ine AWB is defeated, it becomes precedence for removing others. This may become a pyrrhic victory for the banners.

    • This initiative done wonders didn,t it??? Shootings and murders by mostly felons I understand have more than doubled since it was implemented. All this left wing law does is hurt the good guys, I also would bet the same people in favor of it also oppose the death penalty for vicious murders, what low IQ small minded idiots the backers of this must be

  2. It will certainly pass. It was smart of them to do it like this. Take the vote directly to the sheeple. A complete ban may not have passed or the courts may have eventually stuck it down. The way it’s written the sheeple will vote yes and the courts will never stike it down. After the challenge the court will uphold the “law” using words like “public safety” , “legitimate interest” “reasonable” etc, etc. And we will comply because Amerikans are a very obedient bunch. We’ll bitch, but we’ll comply in the end (secret noncompliance is = to obedience).

    • I hope all the gun stores start selling pistols with 16 inch barrels, right next to add-on stocks to convert a pistol into a rifle. The law won’t apply if you manufacture a pistol or receiver into a rifle.

    • I thought that was the Grinch, and he’s about to steal Christmas from 18-20 year olds in Washington.

    • I was just about to type about the Grinch and Christmas refences when I read your post and the ones that follow. What they teach in school is so off base from reality. We don’t live in a democracy (this country never was nor intended to be one), nor a democratic republic (as the US has historically claimed to be). We live in oligarchy, and the truth is beginning to “print” through the thin cloak they wear.

      • “We live in oligarchy”

        You’ve figured that out, I’ve figured that out, and the oligarchs are praying that they can disarm the entire country before the rest of the people figure it out.

        • Ralph, they don’t give a shit. They’re playing a long game of chess against a mentally challenged monkey: checkmate.

    • You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch
      You really are a heel
      You’re as cuddly as a cactus, you’re as charming as an eel, Mr. Grinch
      You’re a bad banana with a greasy black peel!

      You’re a monster, Mr. Grinch
      Your heart’s an empty hole
      Your brain is full of spiders, you have garlic in your soul, Mr. Grinch
      I wouldn’t touch you with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole!

  4. The funniest (not like “haha” funny, but more like “you can’t possibly be that idiotic” funny) about 1639 is that my son, who is 9, can continue to use our 10/22 (semiautomatic assault rifle), because he’s clearly a much more responsible gun user than ANY 18 to 20 year old, who would, obviously, be a huge danger if they were to have possession of such a dangerous weapon of war.

      • I doubt it. Since I moved here, the only gun laws that have made it through the democrat majority legislature and been passed by the democrat governors have been the legalization of suppressors and the legalization of SBRs.
        The UBCs and AWBs fail to get out of the democratic majority committees every year.

        • Let me guess, you were one of the astroturfers pushing for the law to remove parents rights to refuse vaccines for their school kids? Too bad it failed and freedom prevailed in your state, at least for now.

        • “you gotta get ’em diptet boosters yearly or else they’ll develop lockjaw and nightvision.”

          dot, a far wiser character than polio germ the 2nd.

  5. We need a national referendum. We need to push home the fact that the dems consider the under 21 crowd to not be responsible enough for gun ownership. In the dems name and honor we need to push to stop the under 21 crowd from voting, driving, military service etc.

    If you can’t be trusted with a firearm you cannot be trusted with adult choices.

  7. Based upon the gargantuan amounts of money being thrown around in out-of-state elections, I think SCOTUS should revisit Citizens’ United. We are allowing people like Bloomberg and the Silicon Valley moguls to influence the election process to an even greater degree than the Russians. I truly believe the Brits may have the most logical solution, the “Silly Season”. Six weeks of campaigning, limited print/TV advertising and no outside $$. WE would be far better of if strict limits were placed on party spending and personal donations, no corporate or union $$ allowed and Pacs and Super Pacs outlawed.This nonsense with out-of-staters throwing huge amounts of $$ at efforts to restrict freedoms must stop.

    • Unfortunately in WA, all except Bloomie live here. They just let us live on the plantation. “Got to keep the loonies on the path”.

      The WA referendum process needs to be changed so that rich elitists can’t pass their personal laws. At least in FL the referendums were just mostly idiotic.

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