GOP Aiming to ‘Fix’ WA State Crime Laws When Legislature Begins Monday

When the Washington State Legislature convenes on Monday (virtually, again!) GOP Legislators will be pushing hard to 'undo' the damage made by Democrat-pushed crime laws.

DEMS USED MAJORITY TO PUSH THROUGH SOFT ON CRIME BILLS IN 2021

Whether it was replacing reasonable suspicion with probable cause (which greatly hinders pursuit and tracking of suspects) to forcing law enforcement to disarm many of their non-lethal weapons, 2021 was not a good year for crime in Olympia.

Nearly a dozen bills were pushed through by the Democrat majorities in the House and Senate, which have resulted in dramatic crime jumps, according to GOP Senator Mike Padden (Spokane).

Padden said Wednesday:

“Violent crime is at a 25-year high, murder is up 80 percent, aggravated assaults are up, rape is up. These policies are making Washington a dangerous place.”

Padden is the ranking Republican on the Senate Law and Justice Committee. He and House Rep Gina Mosbrucker (Goldendale), who is the ranking Republican on the House Public Safety Committee, are leading a GOP effort to 'undo' the damage caused by these bills.

For example, Kennewick Police have had to 'retire' their 37 MM beanbag cannon in favor of 'borrowing' Pasco's less lethal 20 MM unit because legislators said it was too forceful.

GOP leaders are also going to push some bills to offset the State Supreme Court's Blake Decision, which struck down our state's felony drug possession law. This move basically 'legalized' possession of meth, heroin, fentanyl, and other dangerous drugs.

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In addition, as spelled out by the Franklin County Sheriff's Office recently, officers can no longer detain a likely suspect following a crime without FIRST talking with the victim to establish 'probable cause' and a description. It used to be, for example, if a victim described their attacker or robber etc. as a man in his 20's wearing an orange hat, black shirt, and grey pants with long hair, an officer who saw such a person away from the scene could detain them until it was determined if they're the suspect.

Not anymore. To find out what exactly these GOP legislators plan to do to fix the damage to our justice system, click on the button below.