A spokesman for the group isn’t surprised at the numbers at all, given Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s complete ignorance on crime.
For the first time ever in Washington State, more than 700,000 active concealed pistol licenses have been filed. It’s more than enough proof that the public have become concerned about safety since its massive increase in crime over the past couple of years.
Seattle, particularly, has seen such an increase, to the point that many businesses have closed down and several have moved to new areas. But, surprisingly, its government remains ignorant…but the numbers surrounding licenses don’t lie.
A chairman for the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) has noted that there is “a growing concern about Washington’s crime rates, and the fact that the state is dead last in the number of commissioned police and sheriffs’ deputies per 1,000 residents, according to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC).”
He continued, “While reported homicides were down slightly last year from the record 399 posted in 2023,” Gottlieb noted, “violent crime continues at an alarming pace while there are fewer lawmen and women to deal with it. The data suggests two things. With fewer police officers and more gun control laws restricting honest citizens, criminals are more brazen. Obviously those laws adopted since 2014, promising less violent crime, have been total failures. The public is fed up, and it appears they are arming up.”
“Washington has reached a milestone,” Gottlieb said, “and the gun prohibition lobby should take note that these are not the people committing crimes with firearms. They are honest citizens, working or retired, who want to keep their families safe. They have seen the failure of anti-gun-rights policies firsthand in the Evergreen State, and they want things to change.
“By no coincidence, violent crime has gone up on Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s watch,” he concluded. “Ferguson has promoted and lobbied for increasing restrictions on law-abiding gun owners which have had no impact on criminals. He has allied himself with elitist gun grabbers whose agenda of public disarmament has proven itself to be a deadly social experiment. It’s time to take a different approach, and 700,000 Washington citizens agree.”
A spokesman for the group joins us now to discuss these findings further. We welcome them to the show!
Q&A:
- Why isn’t Washington State – and Seattle in particular – more concerned about controlling crime in their area? They’d rather be ignorant rather than allowing for hiring more police officers?
- Won’t this be a concern in the long-term, especially as tourism in the state drops to an all-time low?
- What do you think the driving factor is with more concealed pistol licenses? Crime? Or something else?
- Are the murder rates revealed in the report alarming? Why do you believe they aren’t being taken more seriously?
- If you were in charge of resolving Washington State’s problem, how would you go about it?
- Where can people call in to pledge their support to the CCRKBA?
- The number to support the group is (800) 699-0992.
- Where can we learn more about the CCRKBA and its members?
- Those interested can visit our home page at https://www.ccrkba.org.
CCRKBA (Second Amendment Foundation) spokespersons available to be your guest:
ABOUT CHRIS CHENG (In Pacific Time)
Chris Cheng serves on the advisory council to the Second Amendment Foundation’s Board of Trustees. He is the History Channel’s Top Shot Season 4 Champion and author of the book “Shoot to Win.” Cheng is an Asian D&I advocate in the gun community; a former Google employee who went from self-taught amateur to pro shooter.
ABOUT CAM EDWARDS (In Eastern Time)
Cam Edwards is the editor at Bearing Arms-dot-com and hosts the popular podcast Cam & Company that focuses on Second Amendment news and information. Cam is originally from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and has worked in radio, television, and online media for over two decades. He currently lives on a small farm with his family near Farmville, Virginia, and is a member of the board of Citizens Committee to Keep and Bear Arms.
ABOUT MARK WALTERS (in Eastern Time):
Mark Walters is a member of the board of directors for the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. As a nationally syndicated host of two talk radio programs, Armed American Radio and Armed American Radio’s Daily Defense, Mark is heard on hundreds of stations weekly across the country. Mark is the co-founder of Armed American News and the recipient of the 2015 “Gun Rights Defender of the Year award.” In addition, Mark Walters is co-author of three books, including Lessons from Armed America, Lessons from Unarmed America, and Grilling While Armed.
ABOUT LEE WILLIAMS (In Eastern Time)
Lee Williams is also known as The Gun Writer and has been writing about the Second Amendment, firearms, the firearms industry, and the gun culture for more than ten years.
He is the Chief Editor of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Reporting Project and is a frequent contributor to Ammoland News and Armed American Radio. In addition, Lee serves as a board member of Florida Carry, Inc. He was also an editor for a daily newspaper in Florida. Before becoming a newspaper editor, Lee was an investigative reporter in three states and a U.S. Territory. Before becoming a journalist, he worked as a police officer. Before becoming a cop, Lee served in the Army. Lee has earned more than a dozen national journalism awards as a reporter and three medals of valor as a police officer.
ABOUT DAVE WORKMAN (In Pacific Time):
Dave Workman is an award-winning career journalist and senior editor of TheGunMag.com. He writes for Liberty Park Press, Conservative Firing Line, and is communications director for the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. He has authored Op-Ed pieces in several major newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, Seattle Times, and Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and co-authored seven books with Second Amendment Foundation Alan Gottlieb. Workman’s beat is firearms, from politics to the outdoors. He is widely considered an authority on firearms, concealed carry, and gun politics.
The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing, and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 700,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.
CONTACT: Todd Baumann at 512-966-0983 or by email Jerry McGlothlin at jerry@specialguests.com.
