Hunter education could hit some speed bumps with a new gun law in Washington state.
By Dave Workman
Senior Editor
When Washington State Initiative 594 kicked in Dec. 4, the first impacts were felt right where its gun control proponents said there would be no effect: Hunter Education, leaving some Evergreen State sportsmen saying “I told you so.”
The first signs of what this legislation means were explained in a Dec. 2 memo from the Department of Fish and Wildlife to all of the state’s volunteer hunter education instructors. One of those instructors immediately posted on a popular hunting forum that he abruptly resigned. Another added, “This is what happens when those who vote get their heads filled with propaganda funded by a few anti-gun billionaires.”
The memo, headlined “Analysis of Initiative 594,” was sent by David Whipple, manager of the Hunter Education program for the Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). TGM tried unsuccessfully to contact Whipple.
However, his memo was apparently the first and only attempt to define some of the parameters of the initiative, at least as they apply to “transfers” of firearms in the Hunter Education program. According to the memo, the text of which appears below, firearms transfers from instructors to students are exempt within some specific guidelines.
Here is the text of the Whipple memo that appears at Hunting-Washington.com:
Dear Instructors,
During the November election, the voters enacted Initiative 594, concerning background checks on firearm sales and transfers. I-594 becomes effective on December 4, 2014. The Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), in close consultation with our legal counsel in the Attorney General’s Office, has assessed the potential effects of I-594 on the Hunter Education Program, our instructors, and our prospective students. We do not believe that I-594 will significantly affect the program.
I will briefly summarize our analysis below. More detail will follow in the next few days.
- I-594 requires that all firearms sales or transfers in Washington be subject to background checks and be made through licensed dealers, unless specifically exempted.
- I-594 exempts all law enforcement agencies from the background check/transfer requirement. WDFW, as a general authority Washington law enforcement agency pursuant to RCW 10.93.020(1), is therefore exempt from this requirement. Any firearms purchase, sale or transfer to or from WDFW or WDFW employees when acting within the scope of their authority, is exempt from the background check/transfer requirement in I-594.
- The Hunter Education Program is a WDFW program authorized by state law pursuant to RCW 77.32.155(1)(a). Hunter Education Instructors, when in formal volunteer status for WDFW and acting within the scope of their authority for purposes of the Hunter Education Program, act on behalf of WDFW, and are therefore exempt from the background check/transfer requirements. This exemption extends to Hunter Education Instructors whether or not they are actually in the classroom, provided that they are in formal volunteer status for WDFW and acting within the scope of their authority for purposes of the Hunter Education Program. (Firearms transfers by Hunter Education Instructors that are not for the purpose of the Hunter Education Program and within the scope of their authority as WDFW volunteers, are not entitled to this exemption.)
- Transfers of firearms between Hunter Education Instructors (when in formal volunteer status for WDFW and acting within the scope of their authority for purposes of the Hunter Education Program) and sports clubs, gun clubs, and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are also exempt from the background check/transfer requirements.
- Transfers of firearms between Hunter Education Instructors and Hunter Education students are also exempt from the background check/transfer requirements of I-594, when the Hunter Education Instructors are in formal volunteer status for WDFW and acting within the scope of their authority for purposes of the Hunter Education Program. Again, this is because the firearm transfer is to or from Hunter Education Instructors acting on behalf of WDFW, a law enforcement agency.
- I-594 contains limited specific exemptions for certain temporary transfers of firearms kept at shooting ranges and temporary transfers of firearms to persons under the eighteen for educational purposes. Although Hunter Education instruction is an educational purpose and may occur at a shooting range, these two exemptions do not limit or override the broader background check exemption applicable to law enforcement agencies. Therefore, within the constraints described above, transfers of firearms between volunteer Hunter Education Instructors and students are exempt by virtue of WDFW being a law enforcement agency, regardless of the age of the student, and regardless of whether the firearm is removed from a shooting range.
- Although we are still evaluating I-594, it does not initially appear that student-to-student transfers of firearms would fall within the general WDFW exemption for law enforcement agencies. For students under eighteen, however, temporary firearms transfers for educational purposes are exempt if the student is under the direct supervision and control of a responsible adult (such as a Hunter Education Instructor) who may lawfully possess firearms. Students eighteen and older are not entitled to this exemption. However, regardless of the age of the person, temporary transfers that occur at an established, authorized shooting range are also exempt, if the transfer occurs, and the firearm is kept at all times, at the range. If adult student-to-student transfers are not exempt, then adult students may, without triggering I-594’s background check/transfer requirements—
- Use inert firearms or air rifles (which do not meet the definition of a firearm); or
- Hand their functional firearms to an instructor who then hands it to the other student.
In summary, the transfer/background check exemption I- 594 applies to the following transfers of firearms to or from WDFW Hunter Education Instructors while in formal volunteer status for WDFW and acting within the scope of their authority for purposes of the Hunter Education Program:
- Between WDFW employees and Hunter Education Instructors
- From one Hunter Education Instructor to another Hunter Education Instructor
- Between Hunter Education Instructors and NGOs
- Between Hunter Education Instructors and students
Additionally, student-to-student transfers may also be exempt under the circumstances and for the reasons described above. Where such transfers are not exempt, we believe that minimal changes to classroom procedures will avoid conflicts with I-594.
Discussion of the memo on the Hunting-Washington forum included one comment that dredged up long-standing resentment for the WDFW by many hunters, who have grumbled that the agency is no longer an advocate for hunting or sport fishing.
What is happening now in Washington is being closely watched by Second Amendment activists in other states where Bloomberg’s Everytown organization is busy. Specifically, gun owners in Nevada have been keenly interested because of a similar initiative campaign in that state.
USA Today reported that Everytown for Gun Safety – a heavy financial supporter of I-594 – is now active in at least a dozen states. The story noted that, “Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety also is weighing similar background-check initiatives in Arizona and Maine, and is backing one already underway in Nevada.”
Also, gun owners in neighboring Oregon are likely to face a major gun control push in January.
