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Senator XXXXX,

I am writing to call your attention to Senate Bill 5956; a bill to ease restrictions on short barreled rifles (SBR). This bill is the Senate version of House Bill 1561 submitted by Representative Blake during the end of the 2011 session. House Judiciary Chairman Pedersen declined to give HB 1561 a hearing during the 2013 session due to the current political climate but indicated he would probably give a Senate SBR bill such as SB 5956 a hearing in the 2014 session if it reaches the House.

This bill has broad support. 14 of the 32 HB 1561 sponsors are Democrats and 7 of 13 members of the House Judiciary Committee are co-sponsors. WACOP’s is supporting the bill and the WASPC is taking a neutral position.

Short barreled rifles were unrestricted in Washington until passage of bill 2319-1994. The legislative intent of this bill did not give any reason why these firearms needed additional restrictions, but as of July 1, 1994 the only WA residents allowed to own SBR’s are those of us who were grandfathered in.

Judge Appelwick was a State Representative and one of the bill authors back in 1994. He was asked why the legislature needed to ban these firearms. He stated in part that; “We undertook a review of existing firearms regulations and attempted two things: a cleanup/update of the statutes and some modest additional regulations to dampen the cries for major restrictions.” and “In 1994 there was no objection to restrictions on short-barreled weapons like sawed off shotguns, and apparently there has not been any since. No one saw a purpose for them.” It appears that the only reason these firearms were banned was for some sort of feel good measure.

Public disclosure requests were submitted to each county in the State to determine what kinds of problems we have with these firearms. It appears that illegally possessed SBR’s are very rarely associated with any violent crime; at most a few were simply possessed in violation of RCW 9.41.190. There is no evidence that any registered, legally possessed SBR was ever used in a violent crime in our state. These firearms are every bit as suitable for use by sportsman and recreational shooters as their full sized counterparts. There is no rational reason for them to remain so restricted.

Our police will also benefit by passage of the bill. While police officers are allowed to possess SBR’s while on duty, they cannot purchase one for use as a duty firearm or train with them outside of a duty environment.

Federal law requires that an individual wanting to own an SBR obtain BATFE authorization prior to purchase and pay a $200 tax. House Bill 1561 would simply bring state law into line with federal law. Unregistered contraband SBR’s would remain illegal in Washington as they are everywhere else in the United States.

I would like to know if you have any reservations about these types of firearms. Would you be willing to co-sponsor the bill with Senator Hatfield? I would like to discuss this bill with you further if possible. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Respectfully,

Your Name

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Senator Padden’s office called me to say that the SBR bill (SB5956) will be scheduled for a hearing next week on Wednesday or Friday. It is very important that we have some sort of police presence at the hearing to support the bill. While an individual like myself can say “I believe this” or I believe that”, nothing beats a police officer who tells the committee members why the police need SBR’s.

I can give a ride to one or two people on the day of the hearings to Olympia. Please call me to set up a ride. I will be driving from Belfair.

Randy Bragge
Ranb40@yahoo.com
(360) 440-5889