"Flop date," when all bills must pass their originating chamber (Senate bills passed to the House, and House bills to the Senate), has come and gone. We’re down to monitoring just a few bills in each chamber.

SHB 1391 (limited CPL reciprocity) and HB 1352 (emergency CPLs for victims of domestic violence) are scheduled for a public hearing on Friday, March 26th.

Senate Bill 5554 (community college gun ban) died at chamber cut-off. SB 5312 (healthcare workplace violence) is awaiting committee assignment in the House. At this time the anti-gun language has been removed, but the bill bears watching. SSB 6052 (funding for hunter education) is awaiting a hearing in House Natural Resources.

Bill Status

SB=Senate Bill, HB=House Bill, SSB/SHB=Substitute (amended) Senate or House Bill

Go here to read more about the bills by number. Only "live" bills are shown. For old bill numbers, look in the archives.

SSB 5312 requires health care facilities to develop violence prevention plans, and would have allowed public hospitals to ban the possession of firearms on their premises (to include parking lots). FIREARM BAN LANGUAGE REMOVED (although it could be reintroduced on a floor vote). NEUTRAL AS WRITTEN

House Bills 1352 (emergency CPL) and 1391 (CPL reciprocity) will be heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday, March 26th at 8:a.m. in Senate Hearing Room #1, John A. Cherberg Building at the Capitol Campus in Olympia. If you can attend the hearing, by all means do so. Should you choose to testify on either bill, public testimony is limited to three minutes, enough time to make one or two good points. If you can't make the hearing, please call the committee members and ask them to support HB's 1352 and 1391.

You may reach your Representatives and Senators by calling the Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Toll free! The hearing impaired may obtain TDD access at 1-800-635-9993. Also toll free! You may obtain hard copy bills, initiatives, etc., in the mail from the Legislative Bill Room FREE OF CHARGE by calling 1-360-786-7573.

This article is edited for space. To receive the entire GOAL Post send a request here. Information is edited and reprinted with written permission from GOAL. All information Copyright (C) 1999 Gun Owners Action League of WA and Olympic Arms, Inc.

NEW - National Match Receivers!
OlyArms is proud to introduce new NM lower receivers! These receivers are as close to spec as you can get. We use only our best hand picked forgings, have them cryogenically treated, and CNC machine them to near zero tolerance! The cryo treatment ensures that the material remains stable during the machining process with no "stretching" of the forging. The dimensions remain perfect to the print because of the "relaxed" nature of the stress relieved part.

MSRP is only $150 each, with a hand-matched A2 upper for $220/set, or with a hand-matched flattop upper for $234/set. These receivers must be ordered through a federally licensed firearms dealer. Call and get yours today!

On-line Letters
Those of you who surf the World Wide Web need to log-on to NRA's website. Contained under both the "News" and "ILA" sections of their homepage you will find sample letters for you to send to your lawmakers. The letters deal with a previously-released BATF study on armor-piercing ammunition which concluded that no further legislation on this front was necessary. At the bequest of the Clinton-Gore Administration, the Treasury Department came out publicly to repudiate BATF's conclusions, since they were not consistent with the Administration's plans for more bullet bans. The second piece of correspondence addresses the Clinton-Gore Administration's attempt to ban gun shows in the U.S. You may either download the letters in their entireties and send to your lawmakers, or cut and paste them into your word processing program, add your own, additional text, and then mail to your legislators.

EnforceTheLaws.com
On the heels of the Clinton/Gore Administration's quest to ban gun shows and its congressional allies' legislative efforts to do the same, this week, Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) went one step further. With the introduction of S. 637, Sen. Schumer's "Internet Gun Trafficking Act," the Senator claims to be pushing this bill solely as a means to apply existing laws to Internet sales. However, as Schumer apparently acknowledges, yet in the next breath ignores, there are already ample laws governing the sale and transfer of firearms -- whether advertised on the Internet or in print ads. Such sales are regulated by exactly the same laws that have been on the books for decades that cover transfers of firearms by licensed dealers and by individuals. Schumer apparently understands that such laws, and penalties for their violation, are on the books, he just feels that what is needed is yet another law requiring the enforcement of existing law! Just because a gun is advertised and sold on the Internet does not negate the laws that would apply to the same transfer if it occurred via a newspaper's "classified ads" section. Please call your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121 in opposition to S. 637.

Oregon Alert
SB 700, a bill created by anti-freedom extremist Senator Ginny Burdick was passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday. It is designed to eliminate private transfers of firearms at gun shows. Chairman Neil Bryant held an unannounced work session to slip this bill through.

Bryant, a member of the advisory board of "Oregon Gun Owners" proved himself to be a committed enemy of gun owners by holding a work session and vote when two of the three opponents of the bill, Senators Eileen Qutub and Dave Nelson, were away on other business. Senator Veral Tarno, who had been considering supporting this bill, listened to his constituents and voted NO-- but Bryant stacked the deck. By waiting until Friday afternoon and having the vote when opponents were away AND adding his own vote to this outrageous anti-gun, anti-freedom bill, Bryant demonstrated what we've always contended. It doesn't matter how many "pro-gun" groups he adds his name to, Bryant is committed to destroying your Second Amendment rights.

We're gratified that Senator Tarno voted NO on Friday, but Bryant needs to know how you feel about his sneak attack on your rights. Bryant's tactics are beneath contempt. Holding a vote after an unannounced work session when two of the key opponents of the bill were away demonstrates that Bryant can't be trusted. Bryant assured Oregon Firearms Federation that after SB 700 he would hold no future hearings on anti-gun bills. His actions on this bill show his true agenda. Bryant needs to hear from you NOW.

Tell Senator Bryant that your are disgusted by his shifty moves and demand that he be true to his word: that he hold no more hearings on bills which attack your rights.

Senator Neil Bryant, S206
State Capitol
Salem, OR 97310

Phone 503-986-1727
E-mail: bryant.sen@state.or.us
1-800-332-2313

Where are the catalogs?
Dealer catalogs are here!!! We have made our main bulk mailing, and if you send an FFL you should receive one shortly. Our Retail catalogs are being worked on at this time and should be ready very soon. Give us a try at the end of March '99 and hopefully we can get you one!

Other Newsworthy Items
NAACP - Where do these people come from?!?
ABC News - Do they ever do research before spewing articles?
Washington State "$30 License Tab" Initiative I-695
Congress Weighs in on City Lawsuits Against Gun Makers
No Exemplar of Gun Safety