The recent brazen open carry demonstration in opposition to Initiative 594 shows Rep. Liz Pike, R-Camas, present with a provocative pin on her lapel and referencing the protesters as “patriots” for brandishing their weapons. If this is not a thinly veiled attempt to intimidate the citizens and opposing lawmakers, then intimidation needs a new definition.
Look, Initiative 594 is an attempt to register all gun sales in our state, just as all auto sales undergo a similar requirement. Evidently some gun owners take this as a threat to their Second Amendment rights, conveniently ignoring the pesky clause of “a well-regulated militia.” Both Rep. Pike and state Rep. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, either don’t understand that a 59 percent approval of a ballot measure is truly a majority or they both need a remedial tutorial on what the “will of the people” means. Seriously. Do we really need legislators in our state government acting in such a dictatorial manner?
By the way, I cannot bring a hunting bow and quiver or a saber into the Olympia Capitol chambers, either. So is this somehow different?
Mike Ontkean
Camas
