I-594 campaign releasing misleading ads

Taken from Friday’s edition of The Jason Rantz Show.

There are a couple ads coming out of the 594 camp that are very, very misleading.

I-594 would require background checks for all gun transfers, including between private citizens, at gun shows and during online purchases.

So if I’m purchasing a gun from someone, we’d have to do it at a licensed dealer, go through a background check, pay for it, and then exchange the weapon.

But there’s a huge problem with 594 in that there’s no enforcement mechanism. In other words, even after the law, I can still just buy the gun from someone without these checks, it would just be illegal. And if you’re a criminal to begin with, why would you care? You’re a criminal, you’re not following the laws anyway.

But despite the loopholes in the law, 594 is pushing forward trying to scare you into supporting their law, which I’m starting to resent because of these messages.

One ad, titled “Prevent,” features former Bellingham Chief of Police Don Pierce pushing for a ‘Yes’ vote.

The background check law is great and effective, but if 594 passes you can still buy a gun online or from a stranger, this just criminalizes the people who do it. And it’s meant to go after the non-criminal element because it’s already illegal to purchase a gun if you’re a felon.

Now, in order to scare you even more, the 594 campaign is out with another new ad. This time featuring King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg. I like him. I voted for him. But the statements he’s making in reference to this initiative are meant to scare people.

He’s highlighted domestic violence in reference to I-594, which of course has become a hot issue lately.

“It’s clear that women are most likely to be killed by their intimate partner, and most likely to be killed by a gun,” Satterberg told KING 5.

But all this is irrelevant. Because I’ve got a clean record. I can go buy a gun, and then shoot my spouse. I-594 doesn’t end domestic violence, and you can barely make the argument it helps prevent it. This is just meant to scare people and demonize guns.

These are criminals who are committing these acts. How many of them illegally purchased a gun? How many of them would have been stopped by 594? How many of those guns were bought online or through a friend, and how many of them went through the background check?

The 594 campaign feels like they can’t win this on the merits of a background check, which I’m not even necessarily against, so they are exploiting your fears instead.

Taken from Friday’s edition of The Jason Rantz Show.