By Dave Workman | Editor-in-Chief
For the second time in less than a month, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms—a national gun rights organization based in Washington State—has advised residents in a large metropolitan area to arm up amid efforts by local government to slash the police department budget.
This time, it’s happening right in CCRKBA’s front yard. A majority of the far-left Seattle City Council is pushing a proposal to defund the Seattle Police Department by 50 percent. The move is opposed by Mayor Jenny Durkan and many of the city’s residents.
Last month, CCRKBA advised residents in Minneapolis to buy firearms because of efforts there to disband or change their police.
In a prepared statement, CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb observed, “While the city council may believe crippling its police department is a politically smart move, it’s going to directly impact public safety. Nobody should be surprised when more people buy guns and apply for carry licenses, only in Seattle and King County, applying for a CPL hasn’t been possible since March.”
There is a drawback, however. The Seattle Police Department and King County Sheriff’s Department are not accepting new applications for concealed pistol licenses. This has been the case since March, when the COVID-19 pandemic brought a shutdown of many public services.
The reason is because neither agency—along with several other law enforcement agencies around the state—have suspended the taking of fingerprints because that requires close contact with applicants. TGM checked around the state and found other agencies also keeping their doors closed to the public, despite a state statute that requires them to accept completed CPL applications during weekday business hours.
“This effort to defund the police creates legitimate concerns among Seattle residents and people who work in the city about their safety,” Gottlieb said. “Preventing people from applying for a concealed pistol license is tantamount to denying them their right to bear arms under the state and federal constitutions.
“We encourage new gun owners to take a safety course, study the rules of gun safety, and practice safe gun handling,” he added. “We also recommend they demand resumption of the carry license application process immediately. Rights delayed are rights denied.”
Gottlieb suggested that both agencies should re-open the application process, “to demonstrate some leadership” to other agencies. More than 600,000 Washington citizens are licensed to carry, but the number of active licenses has declined more than 5,000 since the pandemic shutdown began almost four months ago. Washington requires a license to carry concealed, while open carry is legal under the state constitution. There is no provision in the state’s concealed carry law allowing long-term suspension of the CPL application process due to a pandemic or other emergency.
