State Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, pointed out as he testified in a legislative hearing this week he was doing two things he does not generally like to do: advocating for additional public record exemptions and fixing a hole in a policy he generally doesn't agree with.
But not to worry, he said. The world has not turned upside down. At least not yet.
“When you combine these two things, I think we have a good and necessary fix to a small technical issue in public policy,” Walsh said.
On Tuesday afternoon, Walsh testified in front of the House Committee on State Government and Tribal Relations on House Bill 2235. The bill proposes a new exemption to the Washington state Public Records Act that Walsh says would help protect gun owners who are already seeking to improve their personal safety.
House Bill 2235 would, more specifically, make documents and information submitted for concealed pistol licenses, other firearm permits, purchase and transfer paperwork and more exempt from a public records request.
During his testimony, Walsh offered a hypothetical to the committee. A romantic couple goes through a messy split, leading to one being concerned that their former partner might be stalking or following them. For their own peace of mind and personal protection, they apply for a concealed carry permit, but that exact application, which includes personal information such as a current address, leads the stalker right to their doorstep.
Walsh’s testimony was not a specific example but rather a possibility that could have already — or might in the future — come to pass with the state's current public record and gun control laws.
Walsh has historically been against public records exemptions, frequently hinting that exceptions suggest a person or organization is hiding from public scrutiny. He, as chair of the state GOP, has generally opposed gun control laws, including Washington state's permit-to-purchase law, which goes into effect next year. However, it is this law that he says he is now hoping to fix.
In his testimony, Walsh said that the state did not make clear if firearm permits and licensing documents should be exempt from Public Records Act laws when the Legislature first passed the state’s permit-to-purchase laws. His proposed bill would expand an already existing public record exemption for concealed pistol license information to cover personal information required for other firearms permits and licenses.
“Why do this thing to adjust a public policy I don't like with a tool I don't like — exempt it from the PRA?” Walsh said. “Well, I think it is important … Buying a firearm is a constitutionally protected right and it is essential, as our constitution says, to one's personal defense as well as civil society.”
The bill received limited testimony on either side, with six individuals testifying for or against appearing to be private citizens not representing any group or organization in particular.
Rowland Thompson represents multiple organizations representing newspapers and broadcast news in the state and regularly testifies on any bills concerning records exemptions. He testified Tuesday to confirm that the bill is a simple expansion in line with what the Legislature has approved in the past.
“This is just an extension of previous policies as the member said,” Thompson said. “It is consistent with what you have done before and it is true across all persons purchasing firearms, not just those that have some need to hide themselves.”
HB 2235 seems poised to advance quickly through committee after being scheduled for an executive session in the House Committee on State Government and Tribal Relations on Friday, Jan. 30, even ahead of its public hearing which was held on Tuesday, Jan. 27. An executive session and vote to approve or not approve a bill is a necessary step for a bill to advance, and simply being scheduled for executive session is generally a sign that a bill has the necessary votes to advance.
