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Washington State Legislature Passes Life-Saving Bill

April 13th, 2009, blog post by kmcomer

Today the Washington State Senate passed the first piece of gun violence prevention legislation in over two decades by a vote of 39-1. The bill, HB 1498, which passed in the House unanimously last month, will bring WA state law into conformity with federal law by prohibiting firearm possession if an individual is involuntarily committed by a court for a period of up to 14 days. The new law will ensure that the approximately 4,000 Washington residents who are found by a court to be at risk of self-harm or to harm others will be unable to possess a firearm until they have successfully managed their condition.

Additionally, the legislation will reform the records reporting system to ensure that all individual records are flagged in the background check databases within three days of the commitment. Washington CeaseFire staff worked for the last two years to help bring the legislation to fruition. CeaseFire worked cooperatively with both sides of the aisle, the Seattle Mayor’s office and other groups to achieve the historic victory. The legislation was a led by a strong bi-partisan effort in the House spearheaded by Representative Ross Hunter (D-48).

The bill would not have succeeded without the support of our members – thank you for all of the contributions you make every day. Please thank your legislators – the ONLY legislator to vote against the bill is Senator Dale Brandland (R-42). This is truly an unprecedented victory for our fight to save lives.

But there is still much work to do. We will continue our work for safer communities. You can help by donating now, volunteering, or joining us at one of the many events scheduled in the next month. Here’s what’s coming up:

  • Monday, April 20th, 7:30PM – Join us for a candlelight walk around Green Lake as we remember victims of school shootings on the 10th anniversary of Columbine. We will also officially launch our new site, www.schoolshooting.org at the walk.
  • Saturday, April 25th, 9:00AM – Join us for the Seventh Annual Tom Wales Memorial Walk/Run – for the first year the run will take place at Seward Park.
  • Thursday, May 14th, 11:30AM – 1PM – Join us for our annual awards luncheon where we will honor Representative Ross Hunter for his leadership on HB 1498 and Pamela Eakes for her long-time commitment to reducing violence in our communities.