The reported arrest of a convicted felon, once granted clemency by former Democrat Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, on drug and gun-related allegations, while Democrats in the Legislature are currently pushing restrictive gun control measures, is being called “ironic” by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
In a statement released Monday morning, CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb is “insisting” that majority Democrats in the Capitol at Olympia “should try first to explain why their former governor released a career criminal who now is accused of drug and gun law violations.”
By no small coincidence, the arrest came at a time when Evergreen State Democrats are literally pushing gun control to its limits. On Tuesday, the state House Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary is scheduled to hold a public hearing on Senate Bill 5098, a gun-free zone expansion bill, according to a National Rifle Association alert. The hearing has been set for 10:30 a.m. and grassroots activists are urging gun owners to flood the toll-free Legislative Hotline (800-562-6000) with calls opposing the bill.
It’s not the only public relations problem for anti-gun Washington lawmakers. KIRO News, the CBS affiliate in Seattle, is reporting the arrest of a 10-time convicted felon in the Seattle suburb of Tukwila. He was reportedly wanted on a felony warrant for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The Seattle Police Blotter recently reported the arrest of “a violent, convicted felon” during which they “recovered multiple firearms” in mid-February. Felons aren’t supposed to have guns.
The proverbial $64 million question is why do Democrat lawmakers focus on laws to restrict, or at least inconvenience, honest citizens instead of concentrating on keeping armed felons off the streets? Another question: When will Democrats admit their gun control schemes haven’t worked?
Gun rights activists held a meeting last Thursday evening near Tacoma, Washington to discuss the bill and how to oppose it. Ammoland News was there.
Fox News reported the arrest of Percy Levy, 54, by the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force following a 16-month investigation. He was reportedly arrested during a traffic stop in the city of Everett, and a search of his home by authorities acting on a warrant reportedly turned up the following: more than 2,200 grams of powder cocaine, 14.7 grams of rock cocaine and 556 grams of fentanyl, and a stolen firearm. The story has made local and national headlines.
As reported by the Lynnwood Times, the search also turned up “packaging material, and a digital scale signifying intent to distribute.”
“According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, just two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a lethal dose for most people – depending on body size and tolerance – meaning the 556 grams Levy possess would be enough to kill 278,000 people,” the Lynnwood Times story noted.
The timing of the arrest is “almost beyond comprehension,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb.
“During this year’s legislative session,” Gottlieb noted, “Democrats at the Capitol in Olympia have been pushing a variety of restrictive gun control laws. The recovery of an apparently stolen gun from the suspect underscores the fact that their already restrictive laws have failed to keep guns out of the wrong hands.”
The veteran gun rights leader said the arrest is “so illustrative of the Democrats’ misguided efforts.”
According to the NRA alert, “Senate Bill 5098 prohibits the possession of firearms in parks, government buildings, and locations where ‘children are likely to be present.’ While the legislation was amended to exempt concealed pistol license holders, the vague language could be interpreted and applied to interfere with hunting and recreational shooting opportunities. This overbroad language is indicative of the disdain anti-gun legislators have for law-abiding citizens and their desire to turn the entire state of Washington into a ‘gun-free’ zone.”
Inslee, the former governor, is a well-known anti-gunner who supported, and signed, legislation to ban so-called “large-capacity magazines” and “assault weapons” in 2023 and 2024, respectively. He has been succeeded by former state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who has appeared at functions hosted by the Seattle-based Alliance for Gun Responsibility, a billionaire-backed gun prohibition lobbying group.
Another bill, House Bill 1163, is the highly-publicized “permit-to-purchase” measure which would require law-abiding citizens to undergo training—which they would be expected to pay for—and a background check by the State Patrol, which would issue the permit, so they could purchase a firearm. The training requirement would also be added to those applying for, or renewing, a concealed pistol license. Some 700,000 CPLs are currently in circulation in the state.
“What other constitutionally-protected right requires police permission before it can be exercised?,” Gottlieb questioned. “These measures, Senate Bill 5098 and House Bill 1163, amount to frontal assaults on both the Second Amendment and Article 1, Section 24 of the Washington State Constitution.”
According to Fox News and the Lynnwood Times, the suspect’s criminal dates back to when he was 13 years old. Those reports said he was imprisoned for 17 years following a 2002 arrest and conviction for a drug house robbery. Inslee reportedly granted him clemency following a 2021 State Supreme Court ruling in State v. Blake that reclassified possession of controlled substances as a misdemeanor.
The Lynnwood newspaper also reported that since his release, Levy has “dedicated himself to criminal justice reform.”
“He worked as a community outreach specialist for the Washington Defender Association and founded Redemption Auto, a car dealership in Everett. Levy is also treasurer on the Board of the Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County chapter,” the newspaper said.
In his statement, Gottlieb challenged Democrats, whose agenda has drifted farther to the left in recent years, to “figure out whose side they are on, the good guys or the bad guys?”
About Dave Workman
Answer: Because that’s where the money is.
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Isiah 5:20
In the eyes of the Progressive New Left any citizen who refuses to be a serf is evil. Any serf who does the will of his masters is good. This is the end goal of communism, progressivism and any other ‘ism’ where the liberty of the good and honorable is suppressed and the evil ones are unrestrained by man’s law.
I contacted my legislators and even reached out to my local law enforcement in regards to this bill. I received conflicting information on this bill and have submitted written testimony opposing the bill, especially given the interpretive nature of its wording. CPL (Concealed Pistol License) holders are exempt from the restriction, but does this apply to CPL holders who open carry either intentionally or unintentionally? What about if, while playing with children in the park, a gust of wind exposes my firearm to view? Am I fully legal in a park, as a CPL holder, to remove an outer garment… Read more »
Their kind of thinking isn’t rare. Even after the Ft Hood incident. they didn’t even allow them to rearm. Base personnel were disarmed by the Clintons 30 years ago and that’s the way they stay.
Play it again, Sam…
Politicians with laws never stop bad guys with guns, evil intent.
They only control the good guys, which is their true agenda.
Dems want us ALL disarmed (then they can do what they really want). They demonize law-abiding Citizens and restrict them, all the while releasing violent criminals back into the streets. Why? Because they need the chaos to continue so that they can say, “SEE?!?!! We need more gun laws!” The violent criminals in the revolving door will provide the chaos to keep pushing for disarmament. Law abiding Citizens would not do that, hence the need to keep recycling the violent criminals into society. They are a useful eviI to the Dems (who are also evil).