Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
With the midterm elections just days away, the White House announced Joe Biden will take action to reduce so called “gun violence,” but 3,000 miles away in “the other Washington,” Northwest residents have beat him to it, posting another surge in gun buying and concealed carry, Ammoland News has learned.
In a statement released late Tuesday, according to Fox News, “White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Americans have been ‘scarred by the devastating impacts’” of recent gun related violent crime.
In the Evergreen State, they’re fighting fire with fire. Perhaps the growing number of armed citizens will have some kind of deterrent effect.
The state Department of Licensing revealed Washington now has 694,904 active CPLs, up more than 6,400 during the month of October. If the pace continues, Washington could easily top 700,000 active licenses by year’s end.
In the process, shifting attitudes about guns and the party devoted to restricting them just might play into the outcome of some key political races.
Two of Biden’s closest allies on Capitol Hill—Washington Democrat Sen. Patty Murray and Congresswoman Kim Schrier (D-8th District)—could be in trouble as Republican challengers are running very close campaigns. “Gun voters” may make the difference. The reason may be buried in a Seattle Times report on spiking violent crime in King County, which encompasses Seattle.
The newspaper described the suspect in the recent shooting of a woman identified as Amanda James, 30, a mother of three, as having “multiple felony convictions” and who “can’t legally possess firearms.” Yet here this guy was, out of jail on something called “community custody.” The shooting apparently stemmed from an argument over a stolen cellphone.
This guy should not have been out of jail. Some Evergreen Staters associate such violence with the soft-on-crime policies of Democrats in Congress and in the state legislature.
In the latest concealed carry data from the Licensing Department, the number of active CPLs in King County went up more than 1,700 during October, from 107,846 reported at the end of September to 109,561 disclosed to Ammoland News Nov. 1.
Already this year, the politically “blue” Evergreen State has seen the number of active CPLs soar by more than 55,600. How can so many people living in a state that sends Democrats to Congress and the governor’s office want to be packing hardware? Perhaps data from the Seattle Times report explains it.
According to the newspaper, there were 88 homicides in King County last year. This year the number is down a bit, but with almost two full months remaining in 2022, the situation could change and evidently citizens concerned with personal safety understand that.
Police manpower in Seattle and King County has suffered over the past two years, and with fewer police crime is on the rise. Seattle has already logged 52 murders this year and is on track to surpass the 2020 tally of 53 slayings within days. By year’s end, the number will likely be even higher.
According to the Crime Prevention Research Center, last year there were more than 21.5 million active carry licenses in the U.S., and that doesn’t cover all the bases since 25 states now allow permitless carry for personal protection. An updated report on concealed carry should be available in a couple of weeks, and if the surge in Washington is any indicator, the number could be eye-popping.
Average citizens remember how a gun in the right hands changed things dramatically earlier this year at the Greenwood Park Mall in Indiana. There, a 22-year-old legally-armed citizen named Elisjsha Dicken fatally shot a 20-year-old would-be mass shooter who opened fire in the mall food court. While two people were killed, many more lives were likely saved by the straight-shooting Dicken, who was hailed as a hero for his actions.
So, while Biden is determined to ban guns, people in “the other Washington” are stocking up. The Seattle Times story noted, “The King County Sheriff’s Office in 2019 ran 15,000 background checks for prospective gun buyers, a number that jumped to 28,000 in 2020 and neared 26,000 last year….”
King County is the state’s Democrat stronghold. Even people who traditionally vote for Democrats evidently want to protect their own skins.
Whether Biden’s announcement will add momentum to Democrats in tight races remains to be seen.
However, national issues survey by the Trafalgar Group offers a strong indication.
When asked if they believe Biden and the Democrats have made a strong enough case to justify voter support this year, 65.9 percent of respondents said “No.” Among Independents, the number rose to 75.4 percent.
When asked about the outcome of this month’s midterms, 50.2 percent of respondents predict Republicans will win both the House and Senate. Less than 20 percent believe Democrats will retain control, and just over 30 percent think Congress will be split with one party controlling the House and the other party controlling the Senate.
GOP control of Capitol Hill will mean Biden’s threat to push more gun control will hit a wall come January.