Open Secret: I-1639 Would Kill Preemption, Letting Seattle and Like-Minded Jurisdictions Ban Civilian Gun Ownership

But -- Probably Due to Political Considerations (See Below) -- Not Even NRA Dares Fight This Super-Sneaky Forcible-Disarmament Ploy

THE BAD NEWS is buried in the official Initiative 1639 text, Page 8, first paragraph:

"The purchaser shall be given a copy of the department of fish and wildlife pamphlet on the legal limits of the use of firearms and firearms safety and the fact that local laws and ordinances on firearms are preempted by state law and must be consistent with state law."

Washington state uses such strike-throughs to show which parts of present-day laws legislators or voters are targeting for repeal. That's also how the Voters' Pamphlet...General Election November 6 (Page 92; seventh paragraph) reveals that enactment of I-1639 would repeal preemption and terminates all the protections it provided. 

Though the voters' pamphlets are mailed to every household in the state, the initiative's impact becomes clear only when its discouragingly turgid, irritatingly repetitive prose is carefully studied. That means most voters -- obviously as intended -- will never know preemption is on the ballot. 

But what is preemption? It originated as a legal doctrine to protect citizens from prosecution for accidental violations of contradictory local variations in what's lawful and what's not. It prohibits cities, counties and other local government agencies from imposing laws that are more restrictive than state law. 

As it applies to firearms and ammunition in Washington, preemption requires that all relevant laws be consistent throughout the state. Enacted in the 1980s, it decrees that only the legislature can enact such measures. This avoids a confusing patchwork of rules and regulations that would make it difficult (if not impossible) for gun owners to ensure they are obeying the law when traveling from one part of the state to another. 

In Washington,  preemption has thus traditionally protected legal firearms owners from the fiercely anti-gunowner majorities who increasingly dominate the politics of the larger coastal cities -- not just Seattle, but also Bellingham, Olympia and Tacoma. 

Once preemption is gone -- and I-1639's language of revocation is unequivocal  -- any local jurisdiction could enact any anti-gun restriction it pleases. Indeed, Seattle's... 

(To read the rest, go here.)