Grays Harbor County Commission President Randy Ross said Tuesday he was still opposed to Initiative 1639 and is a supporter of the right to bear arms, but he would not support the most recent draft of a county resolution opposing the implementation of provisions of the statewide gun control initiative.
"I support the right to bear arms and believe this (the initiative) is poor law," said Ross. When Commissioner Wes Cormier moved for the passage of the resolution, Ross did not provide a second and said he would not support it.
Vickie Raines, the third commissioner, was absent Tuesday. Ross recommended, and Cormier agreed, the resolution be put on the agenda for the next meeting, when Raines, who has been firmly behind a resolution of this kind, is expected to be in attendance.
Initiative 1639 passed with nearly 60 percent of the statewide vote in November and includes provisions such as raising the legal age to purchase semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21 and mandatory enhanced background checks on their sale.
Ross said the resolution "doesn't say what I want it to say" and that he would rather write his own letter of opposition. Cormier said he supported the resolution as it was written. Ross also indicated he felt the effective time for the resolution had passed.
The resolution itself concludes, "The Grays Harbor County Board of Commissioners does hereby oppose the implementation of I-1639 or the enactment of any legislation that would infringe upon the lawful rights of its residents to Keep and Bear Arms, and would consider such laws to be unconstitutional and beyond lawful application of its legislative and governance authority or duties."
Cormier said it's his opinion sheriffs have come out against enforcing the initiative because they feel it violates the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the right to bear arms expressed in the State Constitution. Since sheriffs are sworn to uphold and enforce the laws of the state and the U.S. and State Constitutions, the initiative's rules put them in a difficult situation when it comes to enforcement of the initiative.
The resolution has been on the agenda for a few months, as other counties passed their own resolutions and sheriff's offices across the state, including Grays Harbor and Pacific counties, said they were instructing their deputies to not actively enforce the provisions of the initiative. The vote had been delayed due to commissioners' absences and, in February, Raines' decision to produce another draft to reflect language included in a Cowlitz County resolution.
