Concealed-carry license holders would be able to apply for an exemption that would allow them to carry a concealed weapon in gun-free zones.  The bill is here…

BELLEVUE, WA – Responding to statements made by Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes Thursday to KING 5 News that the so-called “gun violence tax” is “not too drastic,” Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation – which is suing the city over the tax – suggested that Holmes should apply that same principle to legalized marijuana sales in the city.

SAF, along with the National Rifle Association, National Shooting Sports Foundation, filed suit last month against the new tax, asserting that it violates the state firearms preemption law.

Gottlieb recalled that Holmes was among the first in line at a Seattle pot shop in July 2014 to purchase a couple of two-gram bags of weed, one of which he said he was keeping “for posterity, and one for personal enjoyment at some point when it’s appropriate.”

“For Holmes to brush off this new gun and ammunition tax as no big deal suggests he’s been smoking some of that weed already,” Gottlieb quipped. “A person would have to be stoned to believe that a tax, no matter how large or small, doesn’t affect somebody.

“But,” he continued, “if that’s the way economics works in Pete’s alternate universe, then he should support a tax of $25 on the sale of every ounce of marijuana, and a five-cent tax on every joint. Think of the money that could be raised for drug treatment and gang violence prevention programs. It would force drug gangs and pot smokers to pay for those efforts.” Read more

BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today blasted a new gun control measure sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) as “beyond unreasonable” because it would hold commercial and private gun sellers liable for crimes they didn’t commit.

Sen. Kaine’s “Responsible Transfer of Firearms Act” creates what one newspaper described as “an affirmative responsibility” for gun sellers to take “reasonable steps” to assure that a buyer can legally own a firearm. But it doesn’t define what those steps might be, and doesn’t explain what other ‘reasonable steps’ a dealer or private seller might take if a person passes a background check.

“The language in Sen. Kaine’s bill seems intentionally vague and designed to create a chilling effect, especially on perfectly legal private firearms transactions,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “It appears Sen. Kaine also expects gun dealers and private sellers to be clairvoyant. Just what else could a retailer do beyond a background check? Sen. Kaine seems to suggest background checks on all transactions may not be good enough. The bill just talks about ‘reasonable steps,’ but what does that mean, especially to a private seller? Read more