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Yesterday, May, 3rd, 2023, a Mom-At-Arms researcher published an article regarding FOIA findings they found regarding Washington State legislators. Rep Berry, a Giffords alumni and one of the biggest proponents of state level gun control, was nailed for taking orders (pushing the legislative agenda) from Everytown For Gun Safety and WA's Alliance For Gun Responsibility. Article here:
Upon additional research of the FOIA results, more Gun Control efforts presented themselves: One day after the 7/4/22 Highland Park shooting, a Washington State Senator, David Frockt, orchestrated a rally-call with other senators to take advantage of the hi-profile shooting to push a Washington "assault weapon" ban.
Another Senator responded about a week later.
Takeaways:
-"Never let a tragedy go to political waste and never wait for facts or even the victims to be identified".
-It's obvious that they know Bruen is a major problem for them, even if they don't publicly acknowledge that.
-They are worried about SCOTUS taking up an AWB case, and it's very interesting they mentioned Justice Barrett, as in IL (7th district), she is intervening in a case there and requesting briefs from the state and gave them only a week to provide them (uh oh). They know that these (unconstitutional) laws won't hold up, and it's odd why they continue to be on offense when they know they're clearly on defense.
-Senator Frockt said "I think the proposed law will need to be crafted very carefully with findings that not only account for current public safety needs but also some type of historical analysis along the lines of what the court is calling for in Bruen." Uh, no. Per Bruen, interest balancing (public safety needs) is dead. No more two step framework. "In the years since, the Courts of Appeals have coalesced around a 'two-step' framework for analyzing Second Amendment challenges that combines history with means-end scrutiny," Justice Clarence Thomas notes in the Bruenmajority opinion. "Today, we decline to adopt that two-part approach."
Hope this behind-the-scenes email between senators in Washington State just a day after the Highland Park shooting was insightful.