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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
It is an honor to represent the great people in Northeast Washington! I know you are independent, faithful, patriotic, and politically engaged men and women of character. What an honor it is to serve you.
I will send you a legislative update twice a month to let you know what’s happening in Olympia, what I’m working on, my priorities, and bad bills you need to be aware of and what you can do to have your voices heard.
While I will have my own priorities, bills, and projects, I intend to work very closely with my seatmate, Rep. Andrew Engell, and our counterpart in the Senate, the fantastic and knowledgeable, Sen. Shelly Short. Together, we are your 7th District Team! We will fight for our collective values, principles, and priorities.
My Bills
Public safety is the number one function of government. I know many don’t feel safe on their streets, in their communities, or in their homes. We have a public safety crisis. Part of solving this problem is to increase the number of law enforcement officers in our state. I’m sponsoring two bills that will allow local governments and tribes to hire more officers. You can learn more about those two bills here.
I’m also sponsoring a wolf bill. It gives local governments more options when managing and responding to wolf-livestock-human interactions. You can learn more about my bill here. It will have a public hearing next Wednesday, Feb. 5 in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.
Gun Bills
One of my highest priorities is protecting our God-given constitutional rights. As a constitutional attorney, I will fight wherever I can to uphold our sacred rights which are continually under attack, especially our Second Amendment rights.
As many of you know, our state constitution is even stronger than our national constitution when it comes to Second Amendment protections. However, that does not prevent the majority party in Olympia from introducing and passing unconstitutional anti-gun legislation. Here are two anti-gun bills in the Senate Ways and Means Committee after recently being passed by the Law and Justice Committee:
- SB 5098 would place restrictions on certain locations (public buildings, parks and playgrounds, county fairs and county fair facilities) where law-abiding citizens, even with a concealed pistol license, could not carry. Criminals don’t pay attention to such restrictions, but legal gun owners do.
- SB 5099 would require more training for gun dealers and employees, and it would impose expensive license fees on firearms dealers. These fees would make it harder for gun-shop owners in our state to stay in business. Gun shops are where responsible hunters, shooters and sportsmen buy their weapons. Criminals don’t get their guns from gun shops; they get them anyway and anywhere they can.
Meanwhile, over my strong objection, three anti-gun bills passed this week in the House Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee (where I serve as the Assistant Ranking Member):
- House Bill 1132 would place limits on how many guns and how much ammo you can buy. If you’re an avid target shooter, you’d better plan ahead if this bill becomes law.
- HB 1152 would require you to have government-sponsored locking devices for your guns in your automobile or your home. Remember, criminals don’t use lock boxes. This bill has the potential to cost law-abiding citizens their lives or property as the criminals now have the upper hand – and the would know it!
- HB 1163 would create a “permit to purchase” system in Washington and would require someone to take a firearms safety training course before buying a gun. This is much more restrictive than a background check for would-be gun buyers.
Another anti-gun proposal, House Bill 1386 would impose an 11% tax on the sale of firearms, parts and ammo. I call this bill “The Idaho Firearms Stimulus Act.” Such a steep tax will encourage buyers to purchase guns or ammo right across the border in Idaho. This bill will just hurt the large and small gun ranges and gun stores in our region. It is misguided and unnecessary, and part of an anti-Second Amendment agenda that I am fighting.
What can you do?
Many of you have already asked me, “What can I do? How can I tell legislators in Olympia that I strongly disagree with them?” It’s a great question! This is YOUR state government and you should have a voice.
You can click on the bill numbers above, or go to any bill after searching for it here. It will take you to the Legislative website for each bill. On the right-hand side you will see two dark green boxes:
You can then click on the box to send your comments to legislators or sign up to testify in person or send in written testimony. I encourage you to use this feature.
Martin Luther King Jr.
I was honored to give the House Republican speech honoring Martin Luther King Jr. on MLK Day in Olympia. He has been an inspiration for many, including me as I studied law and went on to become a constitutional attorney. You can watch my floor speech here.
Legislative Page Program
Each representative is allotted a certain number of Pages. I’d like to make sure our kids have every opportunity to learn more about our form of government, civic responsibilities and engagement, and the rights and liberties our Founding Fathers fought to protect. All while earning $65/day! The Washington State Page program is an excellent opportunity offered by the Legislature. Click here to learn more about the Page program, the requirements, process, and a FAQ. Click here for the Page application. I cannot over-emphasize how beneficial the Page program can be for our young people to learn more about our government. In fact, in many ways, my interest in public service began when I served as a Page for former Representative Steve Fuhrman over 30 years ago!
How to be informed
I encourage you to visit my website often. It will have links to my radio interviews, my bimonthly Capitol Report Podcast, press releases, all email updates, TV appearances, and select floor speeches. I work for you. You need to see what I’m doing and saying on your behalf. Your feedback then helps guide me in the future. While you and I may not agree on every issues, I assure you my door is always open and no one will fight harder on your behalf.
Thank you for reading my legislative update and for the honor of serving you in Olympia.
Sincerely,
Hunter Abell
