Nickels Gun Ban Hearing Report

The hearing Monday night went about as well as it could have, all things
considered. About 200 (my est., hard numbers not avail yet) showed at a
ratio of 80/20 (again, an approximation) in favor of the Pro2A. It is
presently anticipated that Nickels, charming soul that he is, will
continue down his course of Chicago-esque rule by Mayoral fiat, however
it appears that the press picked up on the theme and the lopsided
numbers in the testimony. I am guessing somewhere between two and five
lawsuits will be filed within a week of formal enactment of the Nickels Ban.

I suspect weather (we're not USED to cold/snow/ice here) deterred many
as temps were below freezing, and many folks in steeper neighborhoods
faced sheets of ice claiming to be roads between their homes/businesses
and main thoroughfares.

We had a fair number of good speakers on the 2A side, with only a few
wince-inducing moments. The opposition, predictably, focused more on
"disarming y'all makes me FEEEEEL safer, never mind logic/numbers" while
our side was more "facts'n'logic" based.

Present were members of the JPFO, leadership of the Second Amendment
Foundation (including Alan Gottleib), recognized NW firearms luminary
Joe Waldron (of SAF), a fair number of folks from the new Citizens for
the 2nd Amendment group, and many MANY others. Probably one of the high
points of the evening was one gentleman from the C2A group that
presented a comparison graphic of the number of shall-issue states in
1986 vs 2006 - good strong visual there.

My testimony may be found at nwfreethinker.blogspot.com .... and in a
couple of days the entire hearing will be available for your viewing
pleasure at www.seattle.gov ...

Regarding the suggestion elsewhere I move to Wyoming/Idaho/Montana - I have
practical reasons and familial obligations leading me to remain in
Seattle despite any other considerations. Additionally, I just escaped
back from California a couple of years ago where the taxes, gun laws,
and regulation generally are all much more oppressive than things in
Washington.

Barring things falling further apart up here, in WA we really have a
pretty good deal when it comes to gun issues, and the Eastern half of
the state (and the Western, outside of urbania) is fairly pro-gun and
tends to serve as a drag on anti-gun measures, and liberal notions
generally (which is not *always* a good thing, but in general a net
benefit - balance is good). And when it comes down to it, I *like*
Seattle....it's the elected ninnyhammers that annoy me.

This bit with Nickels and his ban is a sufficiently substantial
annoyance to drag me kicking and screaming back into activism at a level
beyond my preferred letter-writing and the occasional bit of mentoring.
In any instance...not a bad evenings work...

Here's the link. I've yet to find a way to copy or embed it, but will keep trying...this is to the entire hearing...

http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/video.asp?ID=5010890