To the editor:

I support enforceable, logical efforts to make our communities safer. Therefore, I am voting against Initiative 594.

I-594 is impossible to enforce. It relies on private gun sellers to be honest, since there is no system for any legal authority to verify that a background check takes place during a private sale.

Anyone who doesn’t respect the law will buy and sell guns unimpeded. The only people affected are those who obey the law — honest civilians facing extra fees and bureaucracy with no effect on the initiative’s intended targets.

Furthermore, I-594 is illogically restrictive to the honest with gaping loopholes for the dishonest. For example, if Joe lends a firearm to his brother to take to a shooting range, Joe either has to subject his brother to a background check or “babysit him,” since the initiative only allows temporary transfers for this purpose within the range itself. But if Joe gifts that gun to his brother, no background check is required. It is illogical to require a background check for a relative to borrow a firearm, but not for it to transfer ownership — if anything, it should be the other way around! Also, the dishonest can claim a gun was a gift from a relative and thus exempt. Honest people are subject to fees and hassle while the dishonest lie and face no consequences.

Safety is essential, but do not sacrifice honest people for a false sense of security based on an unenforceable and flawed initiative. Vote no on I-594.

CYNDI BISHOP

Bainbridge Island