Last week, Washington legislators added their voices to those of representatives in other states reaffirming the constitutional protections against federal interference with the right to bear arms.
The Washington Firearms Freedom Act of 2013, HB 1371, introduced by representative David Taylor, rests on the authority of the Second, Ninth and Tenth amendments to the United States Constitution, and Article I, section 24 of the Washington state Constitution. The guaranty of said rights and powers being “A matter of contract between the state and people of Washington and the United States as of the time that the compact with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by Washington and the United States in 1889.”
The bill speaks clearly to the fact that private firearms, accessories, etc. that are either commercially or privately manufactured in the state of Washington and do not leave it’s boundaries, cannot be subject to regulation by Congress under the interstate commerce clause, since by definition interstate commerce applies to trade between states. It goes on to assert that “the authority of congress to regulate interstate commerce in basic materials does not include authority to regulate firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition made in Washington from those materials. Firearms accessories that are imported into Washington from another state and that are subject to federal regulation as being in interstate commerce do not subject a firearm to federal regulation under interstate commerce because they are attached to or used in conjunction with a firearm in Washington.”
The bill has teeth, making it a felony for agents of the United States government to attempt to enforce rules or regulations upon the aforementioned, state bound arms. This is punishable by up to five years years, and a possible 10,000 fine – or both.
“At the beginning of this session, I took an oath to uphold the laws and the Constitutions of the United States and Washington State,” Taylor said. ” Both Constitutions are very clear – the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed or impaired, respectively. We must all be willing to stand in defense of our rights.”
It also goes on to render unenforcible within Washington any federal laws, rules, or regulations that attempt to restrict ownership of semi automatic firearms or magazines, or to require their registration.
The bill was referred to the Judiciary committee on January 24th.
ACTION ITEMS
If you live in the state of Washington, please contact the members of the Judiciary committee to show your support for this bill. It is very important that we put a significant amount of pressure on them immediately, so that we don’t see this bill stall in the committee and die.
You can also contact your legislators, and ask them to support the bill when it comes to the floor. Representative contact info can be found here.
LEGISLATION AND TRACKING
If you would like to see model legislation to introduce in your state to nullify federal firearm laws, please see The Tenth Amendment Center’s Model Legislation: The 2nd Amendment Preservation Act.
Track the status of 2nd Amendment preservation legislation in states around the country HERE
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