Shea wants to overturn gun initiative

Private gun sales would once again be exempt from background checks if a Spokane Valley legislator succeeds in repealing a 2-year-old initiative approved by voters.

Republican Rep. Matt Shea told a rally of gun-rights supporters Friday he will introduce legislation next week to repeal Initiative 594, which 59 percent of voters approved in 2014.

“We have to do this for the sake of our veterans and the sake of our families,” Shea said.

I-594 requires background checks for firearm sales made outside of stores, including many private sales and gun shows.

Renee Hopkins, chief executive officer of the Alliance for Gun Responsibility, which sponsored I-594, said voters made it clear in 2014 they support the checks.

“Legislators should represent the will of the people by directing their energies to policies that will further protect families and communities,” she said.

In the two years since the law went into effect, FBI data show 144 private sales have been denied, or an average of about one every 4 1/2 days, said Tallman Trask, a spokesman for the alliance/Jim Camden, SR. More here.