Washington State Campus Carry Alert

From Washington Colleges and Concealed Carry:

As of right now, schools can prohibit students via the WACs from carrying firearms. Each bill seeks to change this, but in drastically different ways.

SB 6841 would
1.elevate carrying a firearm on campus to law
2.institute a gross misdemeanor charge for violation of this new law
subject the violator to the loss of their concealed pistol license, if any, for three years
3.require violators to undergo a mental health examination while incarcerated
SB 6860 goes the opposite way by:
1.bringing public, higher education institutions into alignment with firearm regulations that govern cities, counties, and other municipalities by
2.prohibiting them from making rules regarding the possession or carry of firearms

In other words, committed activism is needed now. Don't wait to get direction from our highly paid leaders, who can't find space for it on their Washington state alert page because of all that sport shooting and hunting legislation that comes first...

Hell, I was hoping I'd be able to give you a link here. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to repro the email I received in its entirety. It'll be rough, I don't have time this morning to format it and make it all purdy:

FRP ALERT: Campus Carry Showdown, 2-7-08 at 10:00am in Olympia!In case you haven't seen the GOAL Alert below already, pass it on toevery list or website you know of that college students read. CampusProtection has been introduced in the Senate, to counter the campusgun ban bill, and it's officially on! The hearing for both billswill be in the J.A. Cherberg Building, Senate Hearing Room 3, at10:00am.Now is not the time for students to be intimidated away by threatsof "repercussions". Intimidation is how bullies operate, so don'tlet it work. The people in authority at colleges are only concernedabout their monopoly on power, and will resort to anything to stopcampus protection from happening. They will let Rebecca Griego andVirginia Tech happen a hundred times over to stop you from exercisingauthority and power to protect your lives, because when that happens,it means the job got done without them, and their power over you isdiminished. They don't care about your safety, so you have no reasonto care what they think. Administrator types will be the primaryopposition we'll be facing in the room. There's also a possibilityof a police chief or two showing up to voice their "concerns" aboutnon-uniformed students possessing guns during a violent episode.It's the same thing with them, they also consider the exercise offorce to be their sole domain, and are only concerned about being theonly ones who are armed when they show up.The thing about bullies is that they are all paper tigers when youmake it clear that not only will their intimidation tactics not betolerated, they will be used to bite them with, and publicly exposethe bullies for what they are.The Higher Education Committee has given us what we've wanted, an allor nothing showdown between the two sides. It's an opportunity wewill likely not see again. If gas is a problem, borrow money. I'lldrive some people there myself from the Seattle area, and I'll donatesome money to carpools if you get in touch. If you have stagefright, get over it, because this will be decided by the number ofpeople present who are willing to stand up, speak and be counted.(Written testimony is an acceptable alternative though.) Thecommittee would not have arranged for this showdown unless they werewilling to actually pass Campus Protection out of committee, if theyare sufficiently impressed, so it's a certainty that one of these twobills WILL be passed out of committee.As you all know, this is about far more than just a gun issue, it'sabout people's lives. The lives of your fellow students, yourteachers and staff, and you. If we miss this opportunity, and liveson campus are lost again in this state, we will have to live with thefact that we failed them ourselves. So let's pull the stops out andwin this one.These are the emails for the Senate Higher Education Committee.Whether you can make it to the hearing or not, contact them rightaway to urge support for HB 6860, and thank them for this generousopportunity."Senate Higher Education":shin.paull@leg.wa.gov,kilmer.derek@leg.wa.gov, delvin.jerome@leg.wa.gov,berkey.jean@leg.wa.gov, schoesler.mark@leg.wa.gov,sheldon.timothy@leg.wa.gov;The sponsors of HB 6860 are Pam Roach (prime sponsor), Val Stevens,and Jerome Delvin. Also write to them and thank them profusely fortackling this issue for us.roach.pam@leg.wa.govstevens.val@leg.wa.govdelvin.jerome@leg.wa.govAlso, a website devoted to Washington State campus carry relatedlegislation is under construction by a campus leader for Students forConcealed Carry on Campus. The site will be at:http://www.campuscarr... . It should be up in a day ortwo, so check back, developments and alerts will be posted there, andthere will probably be an alert list to sign up for as well.Sincerely,Kevin SchmadekaFreedom Restoration Project of Washingtonfrp-wa@mindspring.com360 757-7122

FW:Joe WaldronGOAL Alert 1-2008ATTENDANCE NEEDED AT SENATE HIGHER ED HEARINGAt 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, 7 February, the Senate Higher EducationCommittee will hold a public hearing on two gun-related bills inspiredby the mass murder at Virginia Tech last April. SB 6841 (Murray, D-43)would ban firearms and other weapons on all college campuses. SB 6860(Roach, R-31) would clarify the fact that state preemption of firearmregulation extended to institutions of higher learning, thuspreventingthem from imposing bans on firearms.The two approaches are directly opposite, and offer a greatopportunityto stand up for our rights as gun owners and as citizens of a freecountry. Do we want more "victim disarmament zones" where murdererscancommit their crimes without fear of immediate response, or do we wanttoallow responsible, licensed ADULTS to exercise their right of selfdefense as affirmed by both the federal and state constitutions and bynatural law?The only incidents where spree shooters have been stopped in theirtracks is when armed citizens were in a position to stop the shooter.Pearl, MS, High School. Appalachia Law School. Trolley Square Mall inSalt Lake City. And most recently at the New Life Church in ColoradoSprings.We encourage any who can to ATTEND THE 10 a.m. HEARING. Sign in onBOTHbills' sign-in sheets: AGAINST SB 6841, FOR SB 6860. If you would liketo testify, write "yes" in the appropriate block. Remember: identifyyourself and where you are from, limit your testimony to three minutesmaximum, do not attack the motives of our opponents, do not repeatpoints already made by others. It's a good idea to have a written copyof your testimony to drop off with Senate staff. Additional guidanceon testimony is available athttp://www.leg.wa.gov... Without doubt, the "other side" will attempt to cram the hearing roomwith gun prohibitionists. Are you willing to sit by and allow that?Parking at the Capitol Campus is limited. Car pooling is encouraged.Metered parking is available a few blocks north and a few blocks westof the Campus. For additional parking information, visit:http://www.leg.wa.gov... If you can't make it to Olympia next Thursday, please call, e-mail orwrite your Senator and ask him or her to oppose SB 6841 and support SB6860. To find your legislator(s):http://apps.leg.wa.go...

[Via Zachary H]