PA Bill Number: SB945

Title: Consolidating the act of August 9, 1955 (P.L.323, No.130), known as The County Code; and making repeals.

Description: Consolidating the act of August 9, 1955 (P.L.323, No.130), known as The County Code; and making repeals. ...

Last Action: Third consideration and final passage (199-0)

Last Action Date: Apr 17, 2024

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Break out your calendars, your hunter orange and your guns :: 05/23/2015

Before heading out today for the long Memorial Day weekend, break out your calendars and circle some dates, including June 2, when anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety lobbying organization is planning a “National Gun Violence Awareness Day” and Second Amendment activists are already fighting back.

Everytown gun prohibitionists are urging people to wear orange — what Second Amendment activists consider a hijack of the safety color worn by hunters. Writing at Guns.com, Greg Camp is encouraging activists to “do exactly what our opponents are trying to do.” He encourages people to “carry your gun, and dress it up in orange.”

Perhaps what bugs the firearms activists is the patronizing attitude expressed in the gun control message. “Originating in hunting culture, orange acknowledges that America has a proud heritage of responsible gun ownership. But orange also reflects the value of human life. When hunting in the woods, it's expected you'll take aim at a deer or bird – but you're also obligated to take care with your life and the lives of fellow hunters.”

This gun control event will come just three days after a planned May 30 protest in Salem, Oregon against passage of SB 941, the gun control legislation patterned after Washington’s Initiative 594, the so-called “universal background check” measure passed by voters last fall. Hundreds of Beaver State gun owners are expected at the rally.

Another date for Evergreen State shooters to circle is June 20. That’s when volunteers are being asked to gather for a Capitol Forest cleanup at the Lower Triangle Pit/Quarry, a popular shooting area. It’s also where some people dump trash and create an eyesore.

Recreational shooters can police their own ranks, sometimes with embarrassment. A few weeks ago, one activist caught on camera a couple of people dumping trash at a popular shooting spot and posted images on Facebook. The culprit apologized and came back to get the stuff.

Last night in North Bend, a handful of U.S. Forest Service personnel and shooters met to brainstorm an action plan to clean up and encourage safe shooting at a couple of popular gravel pit areas off USFS Road 70 southeast of Enumclaw. Recent years have seen development on private property within range of these pits, and there have been problems with careless shooters launching rounds outside of the pits.

Last month there was an impromptu cleanup, where shooters turned out at short notice and hauled trash away from these pits. It was a start, but more will be done to reduce conflicts, because there’s a potential for a recreational shooting shutdown in that area.

Anyone planning to counter the Everytown effort should break out their hunting gear, a vest, backpack or jacket. Camp suggests that “If it’s legal to do so, carry your gun, and dress it up in orange…or wear any orange clothing that has pro-gun writing, and be ready to explain that you’re supporting gun rights as a means of achieving gun safety.”

“Be courteous, be confident, and don’t surrender the public space to those who would curtail our rights,” he suggested.

Stay safe this weekend. If you go shooting, wear orange. Start right now to reclaim and retain ownership of the firearms safety symbol. Remind Bloomberg and other wealthy anti-gun elitists that some things are not for sale.

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