The main objective of initiative I-1639 is to keep firearms out of the hands of individuals who should be prohibited from having them.
Namely: felons, minors, domestic abusers and those who are mentally ill.
In order to accomplish this there are four reasonable requirements: establish a complete and comprehensive background check system; raise the age to buy semi-automatic rifles to 21; require firearms safety training and require safe storage of firearms.
None of these requirements prohibits any law-abiding citizens from buying and keeping as many firearms as they like.
Your Second Amendment right is still protected.
In Heller vs D.C. (2008), Justice Antonin Scalia noted that the right to keep and bear arms is not absolute and can be reasonably restricted.
Yes, this initiative will put some additional burdens on law-abiding citizens.
But if it prevents some suicides, murders and mass shootings, isn’t it worth it?
Nearly 22,000 Americans including 950 children and teens commit suicide every year with a firearm, and firearm deaths by country show that you are 31 times more likely to die by gunshot in America than any other developed country.
Its not just a mental health issue, as I hear some claim.
Do we have more people with mental problems than other countries?
No. We just have more firearms and the easy access to them is the problem.
There are now more firearms than people in America.
Anything that will limit the easy access to firearms for those unqualified to possess them is absolutely needed and required.
Stan Riddle,
Sequim