Bitter foes lay down arms to fashion gun-show bill
Bitter foes lay down arms to fashion gun-show bill
Friday, February 09, 2001, 12:00 a.m. Pacific
by Ralph Thomas, Seattle Times Olympia bureau
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OLYMPIA ? Thanks to a rare outbreak of cooperation, the arch foes in the
battle over gun control are close to agreeing on legislation that would
require
background checks on people who buy firearms at gun shows.
For the past month, lobbyists for the National Rifle Association and other
gun-
rights groups have been negotiating with the leaders of Washington Ceasefire,
the state’s highest-profile gun-control group, on a bill that could be
introduced
within the next week. “We’re closer than we’ve ever been before,” said Joe
Waldron, who lobbies for the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and
Bear
Arms and the Washington Arms Collectors, the state’s largest gun-show sponsor
.
Bruce Gryniewski, Ceasefire’s executive director, called the talks historic.
“I’ve
got to tell you, it’s been an incredible process.”
The talks are a departure from the usual confrontations. The two sides
rarely agree
on anything in the Legislature, and four years ago they waged a fierce fight
over a
sweeping gun-control initiative sponsored by Ceasefire.
There are competing theories about why the two sides now seem more willing
to negotiate. Gryniewski says it’s largely because his group is threatening
another citizen initiative. But gun-rights advocates say those who back
controls
saw their last ballot initiative fail by a wide margin, and realize they
can’t get a
gun-show bill through the Legislature without working with their adversaries.
The gun-show issue also has gained momentum on the national level, where
advocates on both sides have hinted the time might be right for pushing a
federal law through Congress.
Whatever the case, lawmakers are pleased with the new approach.
Rep. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, said he was shocked earlier this year when the
two sides came to him and said they wanted to work out an agreement.
Carrell and Rep. Christopher Hurst, D-Enumclaw, are sitting in on the
negotiations,
acting as mediators. State & local law-enforcement officials have also
participated.
Hurst, a police officer from Black Diamond, said law enforcement would
support
criminal background checks at gun shows.
If an agreement between the two groups is reached, “it would fly right
through”
the Legislature, Hurst said. There are an estimated 60 gun shows each year in
Washington. Several are at fairgrounds and convention halls, and they provide
gun enthusiasts a one-stop chance to view or buy a wide variety of firearms.
A large portion of the weapons purchased at the shows is sold by licensed
dealers, who must follow all state and federal gun-sale regulations,
including
background checks. But many guns are also sold by collectors and other
individuals. Those sales are considered private transactions and are
unregulated.
No criminal background checks are required.
Ceasefire last year pushed a bill to close what it called the “gun-show
loophole,”
but gun-rights groups opposed it. The bill never got a hearing.
Last fall, voters in Oregon and Colorado overwhelmingly approved ballot
initiatives
to require background checks at gun shows, bringing to 11 the number of
states
with such laws.
Those initiatives provided some of the framework for the current talks
between
Ceasefire and the gun-rights groups. While both sides say much progress has
been made, some key sticking points remain.
“There are some real significant philosophical disagreements,” said Brian
Judy,
the National Rifle Association’s regional representative.
Still unresolved, for instance, is what sort of records will be kept on
gun-show
background checks. Ceasefire favors keeping some type of record of all
checks,
so that law-enforcement officials could track the weapons, if necessary. But
gun-rights groups say records shouldn’t be kept of sales that involve buyers
who come up clean in background checks.
The two sides also have not reached agreement on whether to use a state or
federal criminal-background database; what sort of waiting periods, if any,
would
apply to gun-show purchases; and who would pay for background checks.
“We’d like to see a law that doesn’t put gun shows out of business and
protects
the rights of gun owners, but at the same time keeps guns out of the hands of
criminals,” said Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the
Right
to Keep and Bear Arms.
Gottlieb said his group would like a system that enables gun-show customers
to find out whether the weapons they are buying were stolen.
Hurst said both sides seem willing to keep negotiating. At the same time,
they
are talking tough about their ability to pass or kill a ballot initiative.
The last time they faced each other, gun-rights groups spent $3.3 million to
defeat Initiative 676, which would have required handgun registration and
training.
The NRA brought in its national leaders and literally camped out in
Washington
state to defeat it.
Both Gryniewski and Judy said they would prefer a legislative solution.
But Gryniewski said if that doesn’t work, his group could quickly raise more
than
$2 million to get what it wants through a ballot initiative.
Hurst said the gun-rights groups have indicated they could raise more than
twice
that amount. “We’re saying, `Look, folks, why do you want to bring out your
tactical nuclear weapons here?’ ” Hurst said. “We can resolve this.”
Ralph Thomas can be reached at (360) 943-9882. His e-mail is
