P95Carry
Moderator Emeritus
More from NRA_ILA .............
Two months after state lawmakers agreed to lease weapons-detectors to
screen visitors to the Legislative Building, state officials are planning
to repeal a rule that bans firearms inside the Capitol and on the Capitol
Campus.
http://www.theolympian.com/home/news/20040522/topstories/55975.shtml
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I read this and it seems like a ray of sunshine but ..... wonder if this is the whole picture. What do you make of it?
Two months after state lawmakers agreed to lease weapons-detectors to
screen visitors to the Legislative Building, state officials are planning
to repeal a rule that bans firearms inside the Capitol and on the Capitol
Campus.
http://www.theolympian.com/home/news/20040522/topstories/55975.shtml
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~State to repeal Capitol gun ban
Legislation this year introduced metal detectors to campus
BRAD SHANNON THE OLYMPIAN
Two months after state lawmakers agreed to lease weapons-detectors to screen visitors to the Legislative Building, state officials are planning to repeal a rule that bans firearms inside the Capitol and on the Capitol Campus.
The existing rule was considered unenforceable. But with its repeal, there no longer will be doubt whether a person can take a gun inside the domed Capitol.
People will be able to carry a firearm onto the Capitol Campus and through the airport-style weapons screening if they have a permit, don't wave the gun around and don't scare people with it, officials said Friday.
Rob Fukai, director of the Department of General Administration, said the rule -- written into the Washington Administrative Code, or WAC -- has to be repealed because it is at odds with state law, which doesn't forbid the weapons except where legislators have specifically banned them.
"I wouldn't say it's absurd, but I would say it's the predicament we're in right now," Fukai said of the prospect of Capitol visitors carrying handguns through weapons-screening stations. "The Legislature has been given the opportunity ... and historically they've declined to act on that."
GA backed a bill last legislative session that would have solved the problem by banning weapons at the Capitol. The measure died in the House Judiciary Committee for lack of support.
Rep. John Lovick, a Mill Creek Democrat and State Patrol sergeant, had pushed for House Bill 3128. He argued that firearms were unnecessary inside the building -- even if carried by a commissioned officer -- unless the person was a security officer on duty.
"This is the People's House, and why would you need a gun?" Lovick added Friday evening during a telephone interview from his home. "We have thousands and thousands of visitors a day and thousands of children. Why would you need a gun?"
Lovick, clearly frustrated by the legislative inaction and what it now means, questioned why at this point the state is even going to bother with weapons screening equipment -- which is forcing the state to hire new security officers at a cost of nearly $1 million a year.
"There's no reason to do it if it's OK to have (firearms) there," Lovick said. "It's GA's decision to lease this equipment. I think they should think it through -- why do we need to lease these screeners if it's OK to have weapons?"
Lovick questioned why GA didn't let lawmakers know of the situation March 6. That was the date GA received a petition from two Port Orchard residents, Merton and Myrtle Cooper, who formally asked GA to repeal its unenforceable WAC.
Merton Cooper, reached at his home late Friday evening, said he challenged the state's rule because GA has no legal basis for barring firearms from the Capitol. The retiree described himself as a firearms instructor who lobbies the Legislature on many issues, including firearms.
He called the state plan to add weapons screening "stupid" and said the Capitol will be safer if people are allowed to carry concealed firearms inside.
"It's a proven fact that when people get to carry concealed weapons, the crime rate goes down," he said. "You need tough people there that the bad guy doesn't know who's carrying."
The threat of provoking a House controversy over gun control eventually scuttled Lovick's legislative proposal, which was considered dead on arrival in the Senate. The bill got a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee, but it went nowhere.
Despite Lovick's concern, Fukai said his agency plans to go ahead with leasing the weapons-screening equipment and hiring security officers.
The agency also plans to work closely with the State Patrol on security questions, including how to handle future incidents. In cases where a member of the public brings a gun to the Capitol, it would be up to troopers to determine whether it's a problem, Fukai said.
It's still not clear what the effect of GA's proposed action will be, Patrol Capt. Fred Fakkema said late Friday. "The WAC doesn't have any teeth to it. That's the problem. We needed something that has teeth to it."
All officers have now is the general language of state law concerning weapons in public. That makes it unlawful to carry, display or draw a firearm or dangerous weapon "in a manner, under circumstances, and at a time and place that either manifests an intent to intimidate another or that warrants alarm for the safety of other persons," Fukai said in a letter announcing his proposed rule change.
Fukai emphasized in an interview that there have not been incidents in the past, so he believes there won't be a significant change once the rule is repealed.
Under the impending lengthy rule-making process, GA plans to draft language to repeal the gun ban and then hold hearings late in September or October. It would enact the new rule before lawmakers return to the building in January, Fukai said.
Lovick said he agrees with what GA is doing, because it throws the matter into the lap of the Legislature, which has the power to designate firearms-free areas, such as school grounds, Lovick said.
"We as legislators should have to make a decision if we want this or don't want this," Lovick said. "If I'm re-elected and returned to Olympia, I will try again to get this through. If I don't succeed, it will be clear the Legislature doesn't care if we have guns in the Capitol."
I read this and it seems like a ray of sunshine but ..... wonder if this is the whole picture. What do you make of it?
