BELLEVUE – Calling it “just another example of how liberal elitists support gun control for everyone but themselves,” two of the state’s leading gun rights activists today blasted a plea bargain by Seattle Urban League President James Kelly stemming from an admitted gun law violation last May 29.
Kelly agreed to a “one year continuance” on the charge of carrying a handgun onto the grounds of Rainier Beach High School in violation of the Washington State’s Gun Free School Zones law, a law which Kelly supported. Under the agreement, Kelly’s handgun will be locked up for one year in a safe and he can possess no weapons.
Joe Waldron, executive director of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) – headquartered in Bellevue – called the Kelly plea agreement “an example of the double-standard afforded to anti-gunners who run afoul of gun laws they promote.”
“If any average gun owner had done the same thing,” Waldron stated, “the Seattle prosecutor would be throwing the book at him. But because Kelly is part of Seattle’s anti-gun elitist power structure, and a leader in the minority community, he gets what amounts to a pass.”
Under his plea agreement, according to the Seattle City Attorney’s office, Kelly will perform 80 hours of community service with a non-profit agency of his choice. His attorney now has possession of Kelly’s pistol. He was not asked to surrender his gun permit, even though that appears to be specifically required by state law.
CCRKBA Communications Director Dave Workman, author of a book on Washington State gun laws, noted, “Of all people, Kelly should have known better. I’ll send him an autographed copy of my book, so he can study up on the law during the next year.
“In the meantime,” Workman added, “perhaps Kelly should do his community service for the Citizens Committee or the non-profit Second Amendment Foundation in Bellevue. There, he might learn a new appreciation, and a far different perspective, about how restrictive gun laws negatively impact honest citizens.”