In The Spokesman-Review’s Dec. 10 editorial, “Lawmakers must find gun database funding,” it’s incorrectly stated that I am an opponent of background checks. The public record shows the exact opposite.

I worked with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., on an expanded federal background check bill that would have protected gun rights. I worked with legislators in Olympia to craft a background check bill that would have eliminated the state pistol registry.

The Spokesman-Review owes me a correction and apology.

I oppose Initiative 594 because under the proposed law, I could not make a gift of a firearm to my brother-in-law without having to pay an uncapped fee to a third party.

I-594 would not allow me to lend my rifle or shotgun to a neighbor to go hunting or skeet shooting or allow me to loan a handgun to a female employee to protect herself from an ex-boyfriend without violating the proposed law.

I-594 is a draconian unfunded mandate that conflicts with existing laws, is written to repress lawful gun ownership and is punitive to gun owners who have already gone through background checks and are currently licensed by the state to carry a firearm.

Alan Gottlieb

Chairman, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Bellevue