Gun Owners of America spokesperson Stephen Willeford thinks banning weapons won’t solve the “active shooter” events .
Democrats are attempting to push a new bill in Washington State – and for private gun owners, it’s bad news.
The House Bill 1240, being pushed by Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee and state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, calls for the end of manufacturing, importing, distributing and selling “assault weapons,” including the AK-47, AR-15, M16 and others. While there would be exemptions, they’re mostly related to antique firearms and inoperable weapons.
“The legislature finds that assault weapons are not commonly used in self-defense and that any proliferation is not the result of the assault weapon being well-suited for self-defense, hunting, or sporting purposes,” the bill reads. “Rather, increased sales are the result of the gun industry’s concerted efforts to sell more guns to a civilian market.”
While some believe it could reduce gun violence, several pro-gun advocates have stated this isn’t the case. Julie Barrett, the founder of Conservative Ladies of Washington, made her point with a recent response. “The Department of Justice reported that 88.8% of gun violence is caused by people who are possessing firearms illegally,” she explained. “Creating this new law to ban a specific list of firearms will not make criminals compliant but will penalize responsible and law-abiding firearm owners.”
What’s more, Barrett explained, “97 percent of gun deaths are from handguns which did not even make the list of banned firearms in this bill, indicating that this bill is politically motivated and designed to make people feel like the ‘gun violence’ problem is being solved when all this bill really does is infringe upon the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.”
With us now to discuss the bill – and why it won’t be nearly as effective as many Democrats hope, is Gun Owners of America spokesman Stephen Willeford. You may recall in 2017 how he stopped the Sutherland Springs, Texas mass shooting, acting as the “good guy with a gun.” His expertise is welcome in this matter.
Q&A:
- What would you say the biggest problem with House Bill 1240 is?
- Why are Democrats so hellbent on getting this law passed? Are they simply trying to follow the same logic as President Joe Biden, who pushed for a potential “assault weapons” ban last year? Or is it something else?
- Several gun advocates don’t believe that banning “assault weapons” is the answer. Is this because of their accessibility, and the fact that a gun ban wouldn’t really affect that?
- You’ve been pushing for a Constitutional-Carry (or Concealed-Carry) solution for some time. Why do you think citizens such as this would be far more effective than banning weapons from the market?
- Do you think this bill has any chance of passing, considering the opposition from Republicans ? If not, could Democrats try a different approach?
- Tell us more about your “hero with a gun” incident in 2017, and how that relates to how Concealed-Carry citizens can stop “active shooters” in this day and age.
- Where can we learn more about you, as well as the Gun Owners of America?
- My official website is http://www.stephenwilleford.com. You can read more about the Gun Owners of America at https://www.gunowners.org/.
About Stephen Willeford…
Stephen represents the Gun Owners of America and is known around the country as the “good guy with the gun” for helping stop the largest Texas mass shooting in the history of the state in 2017. He is available to speak about all 2nd Amendment issues, as well as the importance of the Gun Owners of America. You can read more about him at http://www.stephenwilleford.com.
CONTACT: Jerry McGlothlin at: jerry.specialguests@gmail.com or 919-437-0001.
