While violent criminals in Seattle have no compunction about carrying weapons wherever they go, Washington Democrats want to strip law abiding citizens of the ability to match force in self-defense in various public places.
As journalist Jason Rantz notes;
Their newest bill bans weapons, including legally purchased guns and knives, at bus stops and transit centers.
SB 5444 isn’t just an overreach; it’s a direct attack on law-abiding citizens. And it disproportionately affects those demographics the Democrats always claim to champion. The irony is as thick as it is infuriating.
While current law prohibits weapons in courtrooms, bars, and other restricted areas, the new bill adds several new categories of prohibited areas, such as public libraries, zoos, aquariums, parks, community centers, and other public buildings - which emboldened criminals will promptly ignore as they prey on victims.
The bill prohibits full-time mass transit users from carrying weapons for self-defense, depriving low-income residents of their right to bear arms.
According to Rantz, western Washington saw a spate of high-profile violent crimes in 2023 - many of which occurred in places that SB 5444 would rob law-abiding citizens of the ability to match force with assailants.
Sound Transit's light rail is dangerous to ride. Here, a prolific offender is accused of randomly stabbing a stranger in Seattle. The transit riders come to the man's rescue, risking injury to death in doing so. They're heroes. pic.twitter.com/2fgVVXcBSF
— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) August 6, 2023
In November, a 21-year-old man was murdered on the metro - shot dead as he was apparently sleeping. That same month, a 64-year-old man was stabbed after getting off a Metro bus in Seattle. In the Parkland area of Seattle, two young men were shot dead last year at a bus stop across the street from an elementary school.
Rantz further notes that Seattle mass transit is unsafe, period - and Democrats want to eliminate 'reasonable means of defending ourselves.'
Washington Democrats routinely push legislation making it easier for criminals to suffer fewer — if any — consequences for their crimes. But at least the rest of us have been left with means to protect ourselves and our families from the criminals Democrats keep out of jail. But if this bill passes, we’ll again be sitting ducks.
It’s unclear what bill sponsor State Senator Javier Valdez (D-Seattle) hopes to accomplish. He did not respond to a request for comment. It’s safe to say the intent is not to add more jail time to criminals caught with weapons because that’s already against the law, and Democrats are pushing legislation that lessens punishment for gun-related crimes. This specifically targets law-abiding citizens, disproportionately impacting low-income communities that rely on mass transit. -mynorthwest
According to King County Metro data, law-abiding black residents will be most disadvantaged by the new bill, as they are more likely than white people to ride the bus.
