Groups renew 'tough love' take on kids with guns
SEATTLE (AP) - Gun rights and gun control groups joined prosecutors and lawmakers Wednesday in demanding some tough love for kids who illegally carry firearms, saying teen gun violence is on the rise and current laws aren't up to the task of dealing with it.
King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, Democratic state Sen. Adam Kline and Rep. Christopher Hurst announced legislation that would require an automatic 10 days in local juvenile detention for a first offense - rather than the current penalty of zero days in detention.
They said a second offense should automatically send kids to the state Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration for at least 15 weeks. As the law stands, it takes five convictions to earn that stay in a JRA facility.
"We're simply not holding these kids long enough to teach them anything," Satterberg told a news conference.
This is the fourth time in as many years Hurst and Kline have sponsored legislation to toughen penalties for juvenile gun possession, but the first time that both gun rights and gun control groups have been on board.
Representatives of Washington CeaseFire as well as the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms joined them at the announcement. Dave Workman, a spokesman for the gun rights group, noted the bill would have no effect on kids who lawfully possess guns for hunting or target shooting.
"The firearms community has never been opposed to cracking down on the right people," Workman said.
Across the state, about 145 kids a year are convicted of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm - and for 60 of them, it's a second offense, punishable by up to a month in juvenile detention. In practice, many are given deferred sentences or home detention.
The proposed legislation would eliminate such alternative sentences and, supporters said, give the state a chance to impress the consequences of gun crime upon the young offenders.
Satterberg said he believes the cost would be less than $1 million a year, primarily in housing offenders at JRA facilities, and that could pose a hurdle in Olympia during tough budget times. But, he said, it could potentially offer great long-term savings. In King County, armed juvenile crimes that result in automatic prosecution as an adult have more than doubled since 2008.
He pointed to the case of Carlos Bernardez, who was convicted of unlawfully carrying a firearm in 2007. He was given a deferred six-month sentence and 40 hours of community service, which he never performed.
The next year, the 17-year-old fired into a crowd at the Chop Suey nightclub in Seattle, killing one and wounding two others. He received 30 years in prison.
If such cases can be prevented, the legislation will be well worth it, Satterberg said.
King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, Democratic state Sen. Adam Kline and Rep. Christopher Hurst announced legislation that would require an automatic 10 days in local juvenile detention for a first offense - rather than the current penalty of zero days in detention.
They said a second offense should automatically send kids to the state Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration for at least 15 weeks. As the law stands, it takes five convictions to earn that stay in a JRA facility.
"We're simply not holding these kids long enough to teach them anything," Satterberg told a news conference.
This is the fourth time in as many years Hurst and Kline have sponsored legislation to toughen penalties for juvenile gun possession, but the first time that both gun rights and gun control groups have been on board.
Representatives of Washington CeaseFire as well as the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms joined them at the announcement. Dave Workman, a spokesman for the gun rights group, noted the bill would have no effect on kids who lawfully possess guns for hunting or target shooting.
"The firearms community has never been opposed to cracking down on the right people," Workman said.
Across the state, about 145 kids a year are convicted of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm - and for 60 of them, it's a second offense, punishable by up to a month in juvenile detention. In practice, many are given deferred sentences or home detention.
The proposed legislation would eliminate such alternative sentences and, supporters said, give the state a chance to impress the consequences of gun crime upon the young offenders.
Satterberg said he believes the cost would be less than $1 million a year, primarily in housing offenders at JRA facilities, and that could pose a hurdle in Olympia during tough budget times. But, he said, it could potentially offer great long-term savings. In King County, armed juvenile crimes that result in automatic prosecution as an adult have more than doubled since 2008.
He pointed to the case of Carlos Bernardez, who was convicted of unlawfully carrying a firearm in 2007. He was given a deferred six-month sentence and 40 hours of community service, which he never performed.
The next year, the 17-year-old fired into a crowd at the Chop Suey nightclub in Seattle, killing one and wounding two others. He received 30 years in prison.
If such cases can be prevented, the legislation will be well worth it, Satterberg said.
Charge them as an adult for any weapons crimes.
Gee, aren't guns wonderful? All we need is more of them.
@Superman_1967 We need less criminals, the inanimate object is not the problem. Until we accept that and hold people accountable for their actions and not coddle them and make excuses the crime problem will continue to increase. There are enough gun laws on the books, we need to enforce them and lock people up for a long time when they violate them.
It's about time we take our streets back from all these little wanabee teenage gangsters that are running wild!! I still don't think it's tough enough but at least it's a start.
No more hug a thug? How un- WA. like.
really he just found the lord and chanin he life around
Let's give the kids pot and show them how good handling a weapon can make them feel. What a wonderful mixture, let them get high and then take the weapons to school. Our society is not doing enough to accept the blame for all of this stupidity. We need to step up to the plate and mean it.
It is about time. Â Punish the offenders, NOT the law abiding gun OWNERS.
 @Kenneth Weigel Agreed.... with "punish" being the operative word...
No More Wristslaps!
If these kids are not being held long enough or the laws are "not up to the task" then the real problems lies with the courts: the judges, the prosecutors, and the correctional facilities. New laws don't do a thing if the penalties are not handed down and then carried out.
Â
Judges that don't want to do this should be voted out or removed from the bench. Prosecutors should do their job or get booted out. The correctional facilities should find room for those kids who get sent to them.
At least its a step in the right direction .... I'm all for gun rights, but not illegally in the hands of teens. There is no reason for a teen to be carrying a gun around unless they are up to no good.