by Joe Waldron, Chairman, WeCARE

The final count on Initiative 676, the so-called "Handgun Safety Act" in Washington state, was:

The NO vote carried EVERY county in the state, even King County (56.7% NO), the most heavily populated, urbanized county in the state. Only one county east of the Cascades voted below 80% against the initiative (Whitman, at 78%). Even largely urban Spokane County voted 83.2% against. Only four counties west of the Cascades voted below 70% (San Juan, 54.9%, King 56.7%, Clark 65.8% and Clallam 67.5%).

You won't hear the I-676 vote mentioned in the national media for one reason: it refutes the politically correct myth that "the people want more gun control." As in Massachusetts in 1976 and California in 1982, Washington's electorate rejected this gun control measure overwhelmingly.

Interestingly, before the election I-676 was described as a moderate, simple gun safety measure. After the election, and the surprising (to them) turnaround vote, the few media pundits who mentioned it at all excused its defeat by calling it a "harsh gun control law."

Despite whining about "the NRA buying the election" and "lying to the people," in fact the only lies were by I-676 proponents. Their own speakers guide instructed activists to "avoid getting bogged down in details," "stress concept over content," and "avoid the truth where it doesn't support your argument."

The NRA, who provided 2/3 of the $3.3 million collected to defeat I-676, spent about $28 per member in Washington, as opposed to $127 per member by Washington Ceasefire, the state's Handgun Control affiliate.

Billed as a "grassroots movement," I-676 proponents had a contributor list of about 1,000 individuals. 90+% of their money came from within a 20 mile radius of Seattle. WeCARE (Washington Citizens Against Regulatory Excess), the PAC formed to oppose the initiative, had a contributor list of more than 11,000. Who had the grassroots movement?

Law enforcement opposition to I-676 played a critical role in the election. While I-676 proponents claimed to have l/e support (1 sheriff and 6-7 police chiefs), 33 county sheriffs came out in opposition to the initiative, and more than 7,500 of the state's 9,000 police officers opposed it as well.

The pro-I-676 side bragged about their endorsement by the Washington State Medical Association, but declined to mention that WeCARE was not even permitted to make its case to the WSMA (I guess they feel 1st Amendment rights are as subject to restriction as 2nd Amendment). If you examine the number of physicians and other medical professionals listed with the state's Public Disclosure Commission as contributing for/against I-676, you will see that WeCARE reported more than twice as many doctors and health professionals than Washington Citizens for Handgun Safety (Washington Ceasefire's cover name for the election). (PDC data is available from file 06.txt at www.washington.edu/pdc)

The purpose of this posting is to keep readers informed about the outcome of the I-676 battle, something you are unlikely to learn reading the mass media.