My office is being inundated with constituents concerned about what is going on in Olympia with respect to our Second Amendment rights.

I want to thank everyone for sharing their concerns and any efforts being made to slow or stop these unnecessary infringements on law-abiding citizens. I thought I’d share a brief update on where some of these proposal are in the legislative process.

• Senate Bill 5078 would create liability for gun manufacturers and dealers that would basically make them uninsurable in our state. This proposal was approved by the policy committee with 1563 signing in support and 2775 testifiers opposed. It had a public hearing in the budget committee Jan. 31 where 657 signed in Pro and  886 testifiers Con. No further action has been taken yet.
• Senate Bill 5193 and the House companion bill, which are being referred to an an “assault weapons” ban have not yet received a public hearing. The other related legislation, Senate Bill 5265 has not moved in the Senate, but the House version, HB 1240 could be voted on by the House of Representatives if it is taken out of the Rules Committee.
• Senate Bill 5446 would allow local jurisdictions to create their own gun laws, which is currently preempted by state law. The Senate version has not received a public hearing, but the House bill is moving. Interestingly, it was scheduled to be voted out of committee twice, but nothing happened.

I share the frustration and oppose efforts to further restrict our constitutional rights and the impact this liability proposal will have on a legal industry in our state.

Problems with gun violence in Washington are not due to law abiding citizens, they are caused by criminals with guns they already are not legally allowed to have. Imposing the kind of liability will do nothing but further infringe on the rights of citizens. This is akin to making car manufacturers and dealers liable for drunk drivers.

When I stand up for your Second Amendment rights, I am standing up for mine as well.  I am doing everything in my power to slow the progress of these bad pieces of legislation. Given the makeup of the Legislature, stopping them altogether may not be possible, but I will voice your concerns and the concerns of many who have contacted me and my colleagues in opposition to this and other gun-related legislation.