On June 13th, Mariner High School in Everett, WA, went on lockdown as Snohomish County Sheriff’s Deputies investigated a shooting that took place in the school parking lot, involving multiple juvenile suspects. The Sheriff tweeted the lockdown notice around 3:30pm on June 13th and about a half hour later, updated the status notifying the community that the lockdown was lifted, and the suspect, nor the victim had been located
Thanks to a handful of laws passed by the democrat-led Washington state legislature, our law enforcement officials are very limited in how they can proceed in cases like this. They can no longer pursue suspects without probable cause.
In a statement from Snohomish County Sheriff Adam Fortney, dated July 21, 2021 (4 days before this law took effect on July 25, 2021)
“The new legislation allows for pursuits when there is “probable cause to believe that a person in the vehicle has committed or is committing a violent offense or a sex offense as defined in RCW 9.94.030, or escape under chapter 9A.76. RCW.” This legislation also allows a pursuit if there is reasonable suspicion for DUI.
The key part of this legislation is the state has moved the legal bar to pursue for a violent offense to “probable cause” rather than “reasonable suspicion.” For example, if a deputy sheriff was to respond to an armed robbery and the suspect vehicle was described as a blue F150 and a deputy saw a blue F150 driving at a high rate of speed in the same area as the robbery occurred, a law enforcement officer could still try to make a traffic stop this vehicle, however if the suspect vehicle decides to flee we can no longer pursue it under House Bill 1054.”
Washington state Republicans opposed these bills and attempted to call a special session in the second half of 2021 to rectify some of the issues these laws created as communities around the state saw immediate negative impact from these laws.
“On Tuesday at approximately 5:50 p.m., Violent Offender Task Force (VOTF) deputies located the suspect in the 2300 block of 119th Street SW and took him into custody.” The suspect was arrested for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Disturbing School Activity and Possession of a Dangerous Weapon on School Property.
In his court appearance this week, the 15 year old suspect was given a $250 bail and hours later posted bail and was released with no additional accountability or protection for the community. In a press release on June 15th Sheriff Fortney stated:
“Public safety remains our top priority and the youngest members of our community deserve to always be safe at school. I am discouraged to learn the suspect was released in less than 24 hours without an ankle monitor or any additional layer of accountability and protection for our community.”
Last week the the House of Representatives passed HR-7910, the “Protecting Our Kids Act.” This is a Democrat-sponsored package of gun control bills, including enacting red flag laws, increasing the age to purchase firearms from 18 to 21, banning high-capacity magazines and more.
Democrats around the country, with the help of some “Republicans”, are using the recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde to push their gun control agenda. Democrats who have pushed to defund the police, tie the hands of police and take security out of our government schools.
The shooting this week is a perfect example of how unserious democrats are about protecting our school children. If the democrats truly wanted to “protect our kids”, we wouldn’t see school shooters released within hours on a couple hundred bucks. We wouldn’t see the hands of police tied by laws that force them to develop “probably cause” over “reasonable suspicion.”
Protecting kids is not the plan. Disarming citizens is the plan.
The Democrats are good at using a narrative and playing word games to push their agenda. Who wouldn’t want to “protect kids?” If you don’t support their bill to “protect kids”, you must be a terrible human. This is what they do to the Republicans who will not vote for their gun grabbing bill. Meanwhile, unsuspecting Americans who have no idea what the bill actually is, or no idea how Democrat policies are being played out in Everett and cities across the country, think this must be good policy because it has a nice name.
It’s time for every American to be educated. It’s time for us to share the facts with friends so they understand what is really going on in our government and the agenda that is being pushed. If we do not change the people who are governing this state and this country we can count on losing the freedom that makes us America.
CALL TO ACTION:
The “Protecting Our Kids Act” bill, HR-7910 is headed to the US Senate where 10 Republicans have indicated that they will vote to pass. Please take the time to contact each of these Republicans and let them know that you expect them to vote NO on HR-7910. You can call and it takes 60 seconds, tops!
Rob Portman
(202) 224-3353
Richard Burr (202) 224-3154
Pat Toomey
(202) 224-4254
Roy Blunt
(202) 224-5721
Lindsay Graham
(202) 224-5972
Mitt Romney
(202) 224-5251
Susan Collins
(202) 224-2523
Bill Cassidy
(202) 224-5824
John Cornyn
(202) 224-2934
Thom Tillis
(202) 224-6342
