By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
After 53 years in law enforcement, the last eight of them as sheriff of Eastern Washington’s Klickitat County, one might think Bob Songer would be ready to put away his badge.
Instead, the sometimes controversial Songer, who begins a third term as sheriff in January, seems like he is just getting started. He told TheGunMag.com about plans to set up a free firearms safety training program for citizens in his rural county, which occupies miles of north Columbia River shoreline, noting the only thing people must provide is their own ammunition for live fire activity.’
According to the most recent data available from the Washington Department of Licensing, Klickitat County—where the population is under 25,000 and main occupations include ranching and farming—there are 3,464 active concealed pistol licenses. Compared to counties in Western Washington, Klickitat has very little crime, and Songer wants to keep it that way.
He has another project in the planning stages aimed at Klickitat County youth ages 10 to 18. He will call it a “junior posse” or cadet program, which will include firearms safety training and instruction on the U.S. Constitution. This may also serve as a tool for recruitment into law enforcement, he acknowledged.
“That’s one thing they don’t teach (anymore),” he said during a telephone interview.
Songer, a life member of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and the National Rifle Association, also wants to expand his sheriff’s posse from about 150 to 200 members. He is a member of the Constitutional Sheriff’s and Peace Officers Association, and is widely known for his conservative political stances.
Oregon Public Broadcasting did a short report on Songer when he earned a third term, noting the sheriff “faced greater opposition from critics within the county” on his third go-round.
Crosscut, a Seattle-based left-leaning publication, did an even lengthier story about Songer and the constitutional sheriff’s movement.
But his plan for firearms safety training, especially for first-time gun buyers, could catch fire.
“We’ve seen an uptick in gun purchases,” Songer noted. “I want to provide free training to the citizens.”
He will coordinate with NRA-certified firearms instructors and for the live fire exercises, he will use a public range located just north of the Columbia River in the central part of the county.
“I think it’s well worth it to people who realize they have Second Amendment rights,” he explained. “I am hoping to get that going by May or June of next year.”
Songer is hardly a wallflower regarding his beliefs, particularly the Second Amendment. He says he is “very proud of it that I am a Constitutional sheriff” and he cautions “don’t believe the nonsense the far left tries to say about us.”
“We have to take back our counties, one by one,” he said. “This woke nonsense is so crazy. It has split our country.”
Songer ran for a third term when his undersheriff, who was in line to succeed him, decided to bow out.
“I thought we had too many programs in play,” he explained.
He did not want to see those programs abandoned.
So, for the next four years, Songer will be once again at the helm of the sheriff’s department. So far, he’s had a pretty long haul.
“I love every bit of it,” he said.
