U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- The Washington State House Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee has voted to pass legislation making it more difficult for Evergreen State gun owners to obtain and renew their concealed pistol licenses just one day before Las Vegas authorities arrested two suspects whose illegal gun use in downtown Seattle brought familiar cries for more gun control.
It evidently doesn’t matter that the two suspects in last month’s fatal fracas could not legally possess, much less carry, firearms. While the state Department of Licensing last Friday advised Ammoland News that there are now 647,233 active CPLs in the state—the highest number of any far western state, except for Utah—suspects William Tolliver and Marquise Latrelle Tolbert don’t have one. They were apprehended after being on the run more than a week, during which time they became examples of a justice system in serious need of repair.
According to Seattle’s KING 5 News, the local NBC affiliate, Tolliver has 44 arrests, one felony conviction and 18 gross misdemeanors on his record. Tolbert has been arrested 21 times, with three felony convictions and a dozen gross misdemeanors in his file.
But lawmakers in the Seattle area want to make it tougher for law-abiding citizens to be armed. Passing House Bill 1315 on a party-line vote out of committee is the first step. It requires proof of firearms safety training to apply for or renew a CPL, something never before mandated in the 85 years Washington has been licensing concealed carry. The state first adopted a carry law back in 1935.
Last year at this time, according to the Department of Licensing data, Washington reported 613,626 active CPLs. This translates to a boost of 33,907 additional licenses over the past 12 months in a state thought to be politically blue.
One woman was killed in the Tolliver-Tolbert shooting that involves a third suspect, also in custody, and seven others were wounded.
Seattle is the largest city in the state, located in King County, where the highest number of CPLs is reported. The county has 103,911 active CPLs, about one-sixth of all the licenses in the state.
Committee approval of the measure raised alarms at the National Rifle Association, which sent this bulletin to Evergreen State members over the weekend. Members can contact their district lawmakers by going to the site and sending a message, or by calling the Legislative Hotline at 800-562-6000.
The Seattle P-I.com reported about an emotional confrontation between local business leaders and Seattle officials in the aftermath of the shooting. The City Council’s Public Safety and Human Services Committee saw a forceful crowd last week demanding change, and even the Seattle Times editorial page took city leaders to task for blaming guns.
“In this case, blaming guns sidesteps hard questions about why the city isn’t better protecting people from known dangers of the drug epidemic and related crimes,” the Seattle Times editorial said.
The Democrat majority in Olympia—the state capitol where the Legislature is now in session—should pay attention not just to the trend in their own state but nationally. Increasing numbers of gun owners are getting licenses to carry. The Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC), headquartered in Virginia where guns are also a hot button issue, estimates more than 18.66 million citizens are now licensed to carry across the states. That’s 18.6 million voters, enough to swing many an election this fall.
Democrats in Virginia will not be running again until 2021, but gun owners in the Old Dominion have long memories and they aren’t likely to be in a forgiving mood. Between 5 and 10 percent of qualified adults have a carry license in Virginia, according to CPRC data.
In Washington state, that percentage hovers between 10 and 15 percent, the CPRC estimates.
While an estimated 600-1,000 gun owners gathered in Olympia Jan. 31, a much larger crowd is anticipated when the March For Our Rights group holds its third annual rally day in Olympia April 18. That’s long after the Legislature adjourns on March 12, and it falls more than a month after the Washington State primary on March 10. But a strong turnout will send a message to anti-gun Democrats, especially those in vulnerable districts, that things could change in November. Last year, some 2,500 gun owners turned out for the event.
MEANWHILE, neighboring Oregon begins its legislative session this week, and there are gun control proposals in the works. In a bulletin to its members, the Oregon Firearms Federation warned, “the Democrats in Salem are wasting no time trying to ram through their anti-gun agenda.”
High on their list of priorities is House Bill 4005, a so-called “secure storage” bill. It is slated for a hearing this Friday Feb. 7 before the state House Judiciary Committee, OFF said.
According to OFF, this bill would penalize law-abiding gun owners if a thief is able to defeat a cable lock or some other device and use a stolen gun in the commission of a crime.
Second Amendment activists throughout the Pacific Northwest are essentially “behind enemy lines” with anti-gun Democrats controlling both the Oregon and Washington legislatures and Democrats in both governors’ offices. Gun owners in both states have traditionally been a lethargic bunch, but they appear to be energizing this year, with a lot at stake.
Maintaining their momentum into November is going to be a daunting challenge, but anti-gunners may make that easier if they push gun control initiatives and otherwise ratchet down on gun rights on both sides of the Columbia River.
About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
Indeed! Murderous felons wandering the streets and countryside but the Washington House Committees vote to make it harder for law abiding citizens (especially financially strapped citizens) to defend themselves against such felons. ZERO mention from these same committees of anything that would help keep such felons locked up.
Point of such bills is not to do something, it is to be seen as “doing something”. Always remember that politician’s goal is re-election, doing good rarely registers..
So, after 21 arrests on one and 44 on the other, why are these guys on the streets in the first place? I think the blood is on the judges hands!!!!
They talk about “white privilege”. What a joke. Seems more to me like black privilege in this case. I know if I was arrested ONCE I’d be in a cage. The whole white, black thing is just meant to divide us. That’s how “they” operate. Divide and conquer.
Straight out of Alinsky, isn’t it?
DIvide into factions (any dividing line will do) set any faction against any other, lather rinse repeat until chaos riegns, then step up and announce “I have the Final Solutioin’, trust ME and all will be hell, er, I meant, well.
The former sorry excuse of a president the kinyun was really big on both Marx and Alinsky.
We need to be sure to elect Chief Culp this year for Gov. I see it as our only hope. So SAD!
@Oldman, How bad does it have to get before normal people rise up, organize, vote these criminal supporting morons out of office, and repeal these foolish ordinances?
@WB, i ‘m with you all the way. Problem is: WA has been run by Commies pretty much since the early seventies. We have two female commie Senators, a Gov who dropped out early running for Pres (to try and save his failing agenda) and an AG who has sued the Trump admin more times than any other person, ever. They stay in power only because of a concentration of sheeple voters who have no clue and think they can stay safe if they elect a government that claims to have their best interests in mind. Term limits? How about… Read more »
Washington already has term limits; they are called elections and are held on a regular basis. The REAL problem is most citizens can’t be bothered to get off of their collective fat azzes to bother to REGISTER to vote, much less cast a ballot. ‘We have met the enemy and he is us’ – Pogo. P.S. Culp does not have a prayer.
@"MCCLOUD!", that control on our employees has proven insufficient.
@"MCCLOUD!" regarding your PS……….Culp has all of eastern WA backing him. He started the Sanctuary city/county movement in our state and you know that there are only 3 or 4 counties in the whole state that aren’t backing the 2nd. You do know that don’t you? Did you miss your positive tea today or are you always like this? I hope you vote on our side or are you just a troll?
And, so…Supe, what are YOU doing to change that? Are you working to get more gun owners registered.Are you planning a “ballot party” this fall to get a lot of your buds together, MAKE SURE they fill out their ballots and then get those ballots to a drop box?
Are you working with other folks to do get-out-the-vote efforts in your community?
You recruiting anybody to run for office to replace some jerk incumbent? Gonna run yourself?
Politics is a contact sport.
Thanks Dave for calling out this POS. It’s about time that we as patriots stand up to this shit. The buck stops here. I believe that good ol’ trolls like Clark need to be brought into the realm or discarded. Maybe we should just ignore him from here on out. He seems to have nothing positive or enlightening to say. Resting my case.
Mic drop!
@DW, Yes, mere dollars can not overcome hard work by a determined people.
The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing only to expect different results. That’s why the left constantly calls for more “gun control” amid gun violence, when that very violence demands more gun control. It’s called “Cognizant Dissonance,” and means that once you’re in for a penny, you’re in for a pound. Otherwise, all your previous efforts are made to look foolish, and you, a third-class ticket bearer aboard a ship of fools because your history shows that you don’t know what you’re doing. To expect anything else would be akin to coming aboard with them.
@StWayne – Freudian slip? You said “that very violence demands more gun control”. Just so happens I agree that criminal violence demands gun control for the honest masses – must go practice to improve my gun control so I can hit faster and more accurately at longer ranges.
In addition to blaming law-abiding concealed carry holders for the actions of gang-bangers, folks in the blue part of the state are seeing huge increases in taxes. Perhaps that will wake them from their devotion.
It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the democrats and the MSM launch out on more laws to protect the criminal element while making it easier to commit crimes.
The party of hate shows just how much they hate law-abiding citizens with every move they make.
@Vern, It sure is fun watching the democrat party disintegrate. The DNC has eliminated all the minorities; has changed the rules to accommodate the much hated billionaire; and working behind the scenes to cheat the the much beloved socialist out of the nomination a second time!
Yeah, there is going to be civil war alright, but it will not concern any of us!
‘Disintegrate’? Never underestimate your opponent, amigo.
@"MCCLOUD!", What do you propose?
@ Clark, people like you are very good at underestimating.
@wjd – @SM is right. They are tearing each other to pieces, and making a serious effort to find the most extreme and unelectable candidate – but there are many people who hate trump with such passion that they would vote for a dung beetle to be rid of him. Bloomberg has hired very talented advertisers who are doing an amazing job of painting the turd. I half expect the demo-party to select him as a reasonable-moderate alternative to the extremists and neophytes still in the running. Many will see him as someone who can stand up to and win… Read more »
And likely never will be.
” As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.”
–Proverbs 26:11
Did you watch some more of the disintegrating last night?
“After a shooting spree, they always want to take the guns away from the people who didn’t do it.” – William Burroughs
Law abiding citizens, are always made the scape-goats. Why are we penalized for the actions of others? Is it so politicians, can undo, the rights God and our founding-fathers gave us? The majority of voters in WA state, are not Dem or Rep, but independents. The majority of registered voters in WA state, do not own a gun. This is why it is so easy for Billionaires, to buy their votes and make these voters believe, LE will defend them when the time is needed. By that time, it’s way to late. I have more faith, my gun-toting neighbor will… Read more »
It’s not about crime or safety its about controling you! Im going to be saying this truth alot because more need to wake up to this! This problem while present in our nation for decades didnt really ramp up until a handful of billionaires figured out that they could use their money to buy government and use it as a tool/weapon to carry out a elitist agenda.
“Gun owners in both states have traditionally been a lethargic bunch”. Excuse me?
You better watch that mouf, boy.
The truth hurts. Grow up.
@Superman 1 You’ve been the victim of truth plenty enough here as it is, yet you still have refrained from your own advice. A case can easily be made to show that the left in both states have acted as fascists. Yeah, the truth does hurt. In both states, the major cities as dominated by the left are the problem. Seattle, Portland… Notice, its not the Gun owners out in the burbs and sticks that are causing the problem. It is also worth noting that Gun owners in both states have been active in demonstrations opposing groups such as Antifa,… Read more »
Did anyone notice the News line says MASS SHOOTING!!???? Am i missing something here? If 1 person is shot and killed, it is now called a Mass Shooting???
@P15 It WAS a massive shooting. There were upwards of 10 people injured including a nine year old boy. It’s known as collateral damage. The woman who died was confined to a wheelchair and didn’t even have a chance to run. WA State/Seattle gun laws are punitive to any citizen who prefers to choose to self protect, although in this instance, I doubt much could have been done to stop it unless it was after the fact.
@P1500 – Everybody seems to use different criteria in defining “mass shooting”. However common definitions are generally at least three or four people shot, usually not including the shooter(s). Does not require any deaths and does not count people who die from jumping out the window or running into traffic in effort to escape. So in terms of meeting “mass shooting criteria”, fact that one person or nobody died is irrelevant. I’m sure it is quite relevant to that woman’s family and to all those injured (but fortunately not killed) in the attack.
@everyone here Ok, lets start at the ground floor. The only definition of “Mass Shooting” that matters is that of the FBI, who tracks and records homicide data nationally for statistical purposes. Here is how they define it. “four or more people killed and/or injured during a single shooting incident, that take place in a public setting, and exclude gang related violence.” There is a problem with this numbers wise, as the definition is squishy/vague enough that a single discharge of a shotgun round could be classified as a “Mass shooting” if four people get hit by pellets. I personally… Read more »
Undoubtedly this will be used against law abiding gun owners by legislators, but at the gunshop we’ve seen folks who see it for what it is as people who have never owned guns are shopping for personal protection and voicing their disdain for the city/state’s inaction against recidivist criminals. Durkin and her ilk may soon have MORE egg on their faces since the two fugitives have been apprehended and are being extradited back to WA. IF they are treated to the same revolving door justice they experienced the last 35 or 40 times they went before judges, they will soon… Read more »
The public will care less. Why do you think they keep re-electing the bozos who cause the problems in the first place?
@wjd – I agree, but how is that relevant in conversation about shortcomings in WA-state?
Yessir
If texas isnt careful it’ll wake up blue soon! You have a growing cancer in the middle of you!
That a cretin like manbun soyboy beto almost took out senator cruz screams it.
I love your state and i hope to retire here.im writing this from new braunfels.
Wanting more laws should have a base of them actually being able to have a noticeable effect. As Eugene Volokh writes for the Washington Post, “one should have either empirical studies or at least an inherently plausible theory” when determining whether a law serves or detracts from an important government interest. When people say we need more gun laws consider the following, Fact: A felon can not have a firearm. Already a crime Universal background checks. Fact: All firearms sold by an FFL must do a background check. Already law. Make private sales use a background check. Fact: It is… Read more »
The answer to this is VERY simple,in any large city no one can control drug gangs,cartels, Black on Black crime,turf wars Blacks and Asians,Hispanics. The one thing most disturbing is the FACT that Blue state cities WANT theses shootings to continue.If they stopped their agenda to disarm us would be DEAD. They could care less how many Blacks, and minorities murder each other. The higher the number the better they feel.Sadly while this may seem harsh it’s true. THERE is no way you cannot tell me these LE DEPT’S couldn’t shut down 90% of these murders of they JUST spent… Read more »
@Doz, you wrote a lot that needs addressing. First, all criminals and their gangs in big cities and small can be controlled. In fact eliminated in 24 hours or less. You just have to kill them.
The stuff about the libtards … Ok, I can buy that.
What does ” THERE is no way you cannot tell me …” mean. Do you mean that there is a way to tell you?
Dave,
Washington State gun owners are going to do the same thing this year that they do every year, sit on their asses at home and not vote. Many Washington State gun owners who do vote vote Democrat, year after year after year!
This is why Washington State has become the Democratic People’s Republic of Washington And that will not change until Eastern Washington secedes from the state. Olympia will never let that happen because of tax revenue losses so that is a pipe dream as well.
Washington state has become California North.
Washington is lost.
There are more people in Washington awake than you think. But that said the CPL holders in King County had better step up and vote for Freedom.
Sorry Dave, but Washington will remain blue not only past this November but far into the future. Snohomish, King and Pierce counties are not about to become red. ‘I can see all the votes I need from the top of the Space Needle’ – Former U.S. Senator Henry ‘Scoop’ Jackson.