HR1588 just came out of House Committee and a House floor vote is expected soon.
Here is the poorly written bill: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2013-14/Pdf/Bills/House%20Bills/1588.pdf

It makes a mess of ownership, transfers, ends private sales, and in my opinion sets us up for a push towards complete registration.

Here is how you can find out your legislator and brings you to links where you can email/contact them easily: http://app.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/

Here is what I wrote to my legislators. Feel free to use and modify it to fit your needs.

I am writing to object HB1588. I will attempt to be brief. While well intentioned it simply won't stop crime and it is very poorly written. First, criminals are not going to get a background check - Period.

Second, what constitutes a sale? There is no title like a car. It seems like this law can be legally bypassed by (a) saying you don't own it (borrowed) (b) it wasn't a sale but a gift.

Third, there is no exemption for concealed pistol license holders or time period that the background check is valid for?

Fourth, who keeps the new DOL form? Does the owner keep it with them? The seller? The dealer? Law enforcement?

Fifth, Unenforceable-How are you going to determine if the sale was made prior vs post implementation?

Sixth, are law enforcement going to do background checks? There appears to be no requirement for them to do so.

Seventh, piggying back on #6 the $20 fee is less than most dealers charge for background checks (yes, you can voluntarily do this already). There is no requirement for dealers to do the background check. I suspect many won't.

Eighth, the fee of $20 (plus $25 for background check) is going to be a strain on lower income families and possibly high %-wise depending on the item. $45 extra on that old $100 .22 rifle?

Ninth, is there a supporting study to show this may even work? If this is a response to Newtown, I would invite those to take a look at the restrictive laws of CT and how they completely failed. For example, CT already had a universal background check requirement for handguns.

Ten, a repeat of #1 but bears repeating: only law abiding citizens will follow the laws, no matter how well-intentioned they are.

Thank you for your time.