Last night, the Washington Senate suspended the rules and approved an amended version of Carry Ban Legislation, Senate Bill 5038. The measure now heads to the House for further consideration. It is more important than ever for NRA Members and Second Amendment Supporters to contact their State Representative and urge them to OPPOSE this anti-gun measure.
Senate Bill 5038 makes it a crime to openly carry, on the person or in a vehicle, a firearm or other “weapon” if the person is participating in, or attending, a “permitted demonstration” in a public place. Despite permitting individuals to use an area for the exercise of their First Amendment rights, anti-gun legislators want to ban those individuals from exercising their Second Amendment rights in the same permitted space. The Constitution was not written with gradually disappearing ink where one right is more important than another. The Second Amendment should not be infringed upon in any capacity, especially where other Constitutional Rights are being freely and openly expressed.
Further, SB 5038 makes it a crime to open carry a firearm on Washington State Capitol grounds. Open carry on the capitol campus during 2A rallies has always been peaceful and without a single incident of violence, however, it will now be banned without reason.
NRA Members are strongly encouraged to contact their State Representative and politely ask them to OPPOSE anti-self-defense legislation, Senate Bill 5038