CCRKBA Says Court Ballot Title Changes To WA Gun Initiative A 'Small Victory'

BELLEVUE, Wash., June 7, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Court-ordered changes to the ballot title of Initiative 1639, the Washington State gun control measure sponsored by the Seattle-based Alliance for Gun Responsibility, amount to a "small, but significant victory," the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said Thursday.

CCRKBA and its sister organization, the Second Amendment Foundation, were supporting the ballot title challenge filed by Glen Morgan, a private citizen. A Thurston County Superior Court judge ordered changes in the ballot title language Thursday.

"The court's changes show that the original ballot title needed work," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "It also suggests some bias in the Attorney General's office for approving the original ballot title language. Attorney General Bob Ferguson's endorsement last month of I-1639 smacked of bias, and we're happy the court made changes that at least somewhat clarify what this extremist measure really would do."

The new ballot title language reads as follows: "This measure would require increased background checks, training, age limitations, and waiting periods for sales or delivery of semiautomatic assault rifles; criminalize noncompliant storage upon unauthorized use; allow fees; and enact other provisions."

"The court-altered language is not ideal," Gottlieb observed, "but it does clarify that I-1639 includes age discrimination and that it criminalizes noncompliance and mandates a waiting period on the purchase of a legal firearm. This measure treats all gun owners, especially young adults, like criminal suspects. In short, Washington prides itself for being against discrimination, except when it comes to gun ownership. Then principle is sacrificed for political correctness, and social prejudice becomes acceptable."

Paid signature gatherers, many who are from out-of-state, are already lining up to push this initiative over the weekend, he said. They have just under a month to collect more than 259,000 valid signatures.

"We encourage all people to take the time to actually read this 30-page initiative before considering adding their signature," Gottlieb said. "The devil is always in the details, and you can find out more about this devil at decline2sign1639.com."

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.

SOURCE Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

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