MARYSVILLE – The devil is in the details, and people may be misled by the ballot so they should read the voters pamphlet.
That was the overlying message of a League of Women Voters forum Oct. 7. Michelle Valentine, a past Snohomish County president of the league, spoke about the five statewide issues on the Nov. 4 general election ballot. Voters should start receiving their mail-in forms as the county will begin sending them out Thursday, Oct. 16.
Most of the discussion centered on the two gun measures. Valentine explained that the league supports Initiative 594 but not I-591.
She explained that I-594 would close loopholes in law so that there would be background checks for people who want to buy weapons at gun shows and online. Such exchanges would have to go through a gun broker so the checks could be made.
Discussion of the 35 in attendance at the Marysville United Methodist Church on 64th Street showed people were on both sides of the issue. Some said gun registration would only lead to gun confiscation, and that it wouldn’t stop criminals from getting guns. Others said it’s ridiculous not to have safety measures for guns; it’s like not having safety measures for traffic.
Still others said they have no problems with background checks, but anti-gun enthusiasts threw other things in that are unfair for people who just might want to help women learn to shoot at a gun range.
Arguments for 594 say: everyone will have the same background check so it’s fair; it reduces access to guns for criminals; and in states with background checks 38 percent fewer women and 39 percent fewer police are killed.
Arguments against say: the transfer and loaning of guns to friends often would be illegal; criminals would still get guns; and it would create a database of gun owners that could be hacked or misused.
Valentine explained that I-591 just repeats our Constitutional rights prohibiting government to confiscate guns so it’s unnecessary. It also prohibits background checks unless there is a national standard, but that should be a state decision, opponents say.
Valentine said 2.2 million gun sales have been blocked because of background checks, but this law would make it easier for criminals to get guns.
It also was brought up that cities with the toughest gun laws have some of the highest murder rates in the nation.
The league hasn’t taken a position on Initiative 1351, but the forum discussion centered on the cost. By a 72 percent margin voters passed I-728 a decade ago to reduce class size and raise teacher pay. The Legislature kept suspending action on that because of the cost. I-728 was finally thrown out a few years ago. I-1351 would replace that somewhat, providing funds to hire more personnel.
Forum participants were concerned that those costs would be huge on top of a recent state Supreme Court ruling that says the legislature must pay for basic education, which has been another issue for years.
Valentine did not say much about the advisory measures, because they are advisory only. She also said for information on the two Supreme Court races go to votingforjudges.org.
For more information about the league go to lwv.snoho.org.
