The writer of the Dec. 26 letter “Work to stop gun violence” wants to have additional gun laws established. I say, enforce the current laws and we wouldn’t need new ones. Too often you read about a felon in possession of a firearm, which currently is illegal. Bad guys don’t care about existing gun laws nor will they care about new ones.
The letter said that the number of firearm deaths since Sandy Hook is 160,000. People believe this number will increase if the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act is passed. According to statistics by the Violence Policy Center, the number of deaths by concealed-carry permit holders is a fraction of 1 percent of all killings.
I applaud Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, on her support for HR 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017. She’s defending our constitutional right to protect ourselves across state lines. The letter stated that HR 38 and SB 446 “threatens to gut our existing state concealed carry law.” Ironically, Washington has the easiest concealed carry process around and needs to be strengthened.
Contact Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray and ask them to support Senate Bill 446, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017. Don’t let your right to protect yourself stop at the state line.
