I would ask our esteemed editor a couple of questions on I-1639 that he apparently wants everyone to support passage of. Have you read and fully understand the initiative? It is about 30 pages of often incoherent legalese baloney.

I am guessing you are not a gun owner judging by previous comments on Second Amendment issues. Before one can opine with any credibility on such matters one should have some idea of what he speaks, am guessing you don’t. Do you know what an assault weapon is? A true assault weapon is one that has fully automatic capability, something that has been illegal in Washington for many, many years. Calling semi-auto rifles assault weapons is meant to vilify them and make banning them easier with the images it conjures up, of machine guns. The horror!

What we are really talking about here is semi-automatic rifles. But I-1639 goes farther than previous misguided attempts to make such rifles more restricted.

If passed, I-1639 will make ANY rifle that fires one round per trigger pull, and loads the next round by itself, an assault rifle, and not just those ugly black rifles or the infamous AK47.

Grandpa’s old Remington or Winchester .22 long rifle rimfire, target and squirrel rifle, or your favorite deer hunting semi auto, will become an assault rifle and subject to new purchase restrictions, like more paperwork ($), more invasive background checks ($), safety classes ($), licensing ($), and the ultimate goal of registration and eventual confiscation, which is the real reason behind this insidious initiative, fully supported of course by our “illustrious” Governor Jay Inslee, and his equally “brilliant,” gun hating Attorney General, Bob Ferguson.

They were unable to get it passed legislatively, so they are backing this awful initiative along with LOTS of out of state Big Money!

This law, if passed, will have ZERO effect on criminal behavior but will potentially make thousands of new criminals of gun owners, who will just not understand it or willfully not comply, in particular with the onerous sections of gun storage. In effect, if an unsecured firearm (any) is stolen and then used in a crime by a criminal, the gun’s legal owner could be prosecuted. That’s nice!

Perhaps this rationale should be applied to people who have their car stolen and it is then used in an accident or crime. Why not? Throw them in jail! This is where one could end up under I-1639 if passed.

There is much more to it than some simple ban or restriction on so called assault rifles, much more, like privacy concerns. Yes, your medical history will come into play and can be used to keep YOU from owning a firearm.

I would urge voters to read and understand (if possible without a lawyer present!) the whole thing before voting yes on this very invasive and dangerous initiative. Unfortunately, many will vote Yes simply because it sounds like a good thing, (it is about “safety,” right?), without ever reading or understanding it.

Please vote NO on I-1639, or at least read the damn thing so you cast an informed vote and understand its impact on all of us!

Stoppelman was “Born and raised in Seattle. Moved to LaConner in 1989 to escape the Seattle madness that continues to get worse by the day. Lifelong shooter, hunter and conservative (once I wised up in the 70’s!) Retired shipwright and seaman.”