Wednesday, April 3, 2013 • Whidbey News-Times
Letters CONTINUED FROM A6
Politics
Senate firearm bill costly, ineffective Editor, I am concerned after reading Senate Bill 374. I found it to have very mixed messages. After all we want people to be law abiding, so I agree with the National Instant Criminal Background Check System and its reason for being. However, are we going to publicly ridicule and/or hold back funds for a state that does not put as many people on the NICS list as the next, or as many as the attorney general thinks they should have? One section revises the periods during which the attorney general may withhold Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant funds from states that do not provide specified percentages of required records. It eliminates the attorney general’s authority to waive such withholding if a state provides evidence it is making a reasonable effort to comply. It requires the attorney general to publish and make available on a publicly accessible website an annual report that ranks states by the ratio of number of records submitted by each state under the NICS Act to
www.WhiDBEYNEWSTIMES.com
the estimated total number of available records of the state. I am not against a background check nor do I believe we should sell a firearm to a person who has been deemed unworthy. First and foremost this appears to be establishing a registry of ownership. Secondly I would have no problem checking the validity of a person I want to sell a weapon to. If he/she wants to buy it they would consent to this and I would make the call to the NICS myself. No dealer or fee required. Title II Sec 202 part 1 says “upon taking possession, complies with all firearms requirements as if transferring the firearm from the licensee’s inventory to the unlicensed transferee. “ Part 2 says “requiring a transaction record of any transfer that occurs between an unlicensed transferor and unlicensed transferee. The possession of the firearm is also a very grey area. So if the firearm is in possession of the dealer or so called licensee when a ban is instituted does that weapon still fall under a preban status? Can I have my weapon back? If the sale falls through as it did with Mark Kelly’s trying to make a straw purchase, can I get my weapon back? Why should I have to pay a fee to sell my private property? It also “authorizes the attorney general to implement this section with regulations that shall include provisions: (1) setting a maximum fee that may
be charged by licensees for services provided, and (2) requiring a transaction record of any transfer that occurs between an unlicensed transferor and unlicensed transferee.” I understand what the author is trying to do here. Keep it legal/constitutional with the commerce clause catch all. Let us be real here! If my weapon is stolen and I am a law abiding citizen I am going to report that as soon as possible regardless of a law or rule saying that I have to do so. If I am not a law abiding citizen I will do whatever I want regardless of what this law/rule says! This law serves no purpose other than to criminalise current law abiding people based on the AG’s determination of discovery. Section 203 “makes it unlawful for any person who lawfully possesses or owns a firearm that has been shipped transported, or possessed in interstate or foreign commerce to fail to report the theft or loss of the firearm to the Attorney General and the appropriate local authorities within 24 hours of discovering it.” This bill will fix nothing, and yet cost much. I am a law abiding person. I have been in the military and serving my country in some fashion since I was a sea cadet in high school. I know the feeling of wanting to do something to make myself feel better or look as if I were doing something constructive. I have felt that way on many occasions. What I have found though
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is being hasty and doing things based on a feeling rather than fact has usually not worked out. We are making it harder and harder (not just with S 374) to be lawful people in this great nation. It costs more and more almost daily to stay within the law. The average American like me can no longer afford to be lawful, so by no fault of the people the government has created and entire society of good people who can’t possibly live within the boundaries of all these laws, rules and regulations. Timothy S Hazelo Oak Harbor
All students are deserving of aid Editor, State Sen. Barbara Bailey is blocking the state Senate from voting on House Bill 1817, which would expand eligibility for financial aid for college enrollment to successful high school students who meet the criteria for in-state tuition, regardless of the immigration status of their parents. She says we can’t afford it. Quote from the actual Bill Summary (emphasis added): “The grant/scholarship costs associated with expanding State Need Grant (SNG) eligibility to these categories of students is indeterminate. In State Need Grant costs would depend on whether the program was fully funded and how many newly eligible students would be included.
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Massage Therapy
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The number of students eligible for in-state tuition that would be SNG eligible is unknown and the number of eligible SNG students granted deferred action in the state of Washington is unknown.” Translation for those who may remember the Jim Crow laws in the South: This bill just lets more more college applicants “sit anywhere on the bus.” It does not move any student who was born in the United States to the “back of the bus.” Bailey is saying that some poor kids are more deserving because they were born in the right place, and we can’t afford to help those who were born in the wrong place. In other words, “I’ve got mine, too bad for you,” which has been her mantra for as long as she has been an elected official. Many in the community agree with Sen. Bailey, but it is interesting to note what three states already allow such assistance for immigrant kids: California, of course, New Mexico and Texas. Can you imagine Washington being more racist or xenophobic than Texas?
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Outlying Field in Coupville. Are they loud? Yes. Are they annoying? Well, Yes. But I figure it is a small price to pay for knowing that well-trained pilots are protecting my home and family, my state, country and our interests around the world. It makes me proud to live on Whidbey Island. Wendy Moon Coupeville
Thankful Larsen supports Navy Editor, Ken Pickard stated in his letter last week that Congressman Rick Larsen is not representing all of his constituents because he is not representing Ken’s opinion. In fact, if Larsen deferred to Ken’s opinion about Navy flight training operations, he would not be representing me. I also fully expect that there are more voters in this congressional district who agree with me on that issue than those who agree with Mr. Pickard. It is one of the challenges of democracy. Something about being able to please all of the people all of the time … Although most of the time there are no flight operations at the OLF, this evening is one of the times that Navy planes are flying over my house, and I must admit I rather enjoy it. It is a pleasant reminder of my past — on the ground — in the jungles of Southeast Asia when my fellow soldiers and I were confronted by enemy soldiers, and close air support strikes by US Air Force and carrierbased Navy aircraft was an important factor in preserving our lives. Later, my survival, and that of my fellow soldiers, again benefitted from closeair support by carrier-based aircraft when we were confronted by a hostile enemy in Middle Eastern deserts. While I suspect that Ken Pickard is in the minority of voters on the issue of military presence in this area, I will acknowledge that he is among the majority of Americans who never served in our nation’s military, protected by the 1 percent who do. Thank you, Congressman Larsen, for your support of the 1 percent. Vin Sherman Coupeville