I’m a progressive liberal, former lifetime member of the NRA. I have had a large gun collection and can put three rounds in the 10 ring of a B27 target at 25 yards with a Colt Government. I’ve assisted in teaching women’s self-defense courses and I have a lifelong love affair with firearms.
#That said, I have been disenfranchised by the gun lobby because of its representations of falsehoods as facts and introduction of ridiculous arguments into the public discussion about gun ownership in America. A major concern by gun-control forces is the availability of any firearm to anyone who might use a gun irresponsibly, people including minors, criminals, mental patients, even foreigners.
#A major contributing factor to irresponsible gun ownership is the gun show loophole, which allows anyone to come in off the street and purchase any weapon and amount of ammunition from a private seller’s table at a gun show without proof of identification, proof of American citizenship, or a background check of possible criminal convictions.
#Make no mistake, I believe in free enterprise, but when free enterprise provides a means of harming law-abiding citizens through misuse or criminal use of a firearm it is no longer a question of free enterprise, it is a question of personal and civic responsibility.
#Initiative 594 addresses this loophole by requiring that the sales of all firearms in the state of Washington receive the requisite background check to make it harder for criminals and their ilk to obtain firearms by adding a minor inconvenience to responsible gun ownership. After a lot of soul searching on my part, I find that Initiative 594 does not infringe on the Second Amendment and I support its passage in November.
#As an aside, regarding the recent letters to the editor calling President Obama “our gun-ban president,” I am proud the Obama administration has enhanced and protected the rights of gun owners by signing the law overturning the ban on loaded firearms possession in national parks in 2010.
#Enough of the mudslinging, name calling and pseudo facts.
#Gary D’Agostino
Walla Walla
