By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Here’s a little something for the embattled gun owners and Second Amendment activists in Washington and Oregon: On Nov. 3, voters in neighboring Idaho will have a tough choice to make on their ballots.
They will be tasked with selecting the Gem State’s “Official State Gun.”
Bet they wouldn’t talk about that in Salem or Olympia, the respective Oregon and Washington state capitols, both controlled by anti-gun-rights Democrats.
House Bill 932 passed the House earlier this year on a vote of 68-0 with two people absent. It passed the Senate 32-0 with three absent/excused. It offers Idaho voters six options, all of them pretty much classics in the true sense. The choices are”
Winchester Model 1894 (.30-30)
Winchester Model 1873 “Gun that Won the West” (.44-40)
1873 Colt Single Action Army Revolver “Peacemaker” (.45 Colt)
M1 Garand rifle (.30-06)
Colt M1911 .45 automatic Colt pistol (.45 ACP)
Remington Model 700 bolt-action rifle (.30-06)
As reported by MyNorthwest, “The advisory question represents an unusual use of the ballot measure process for a symbolic designation. Idaho already recognizes dozens of official state symbols, including a state bird (mountain bluebird), state horse (Appaloosa) and state vegetable (potato). A state gun would be a newer category, though not unprecedented nationally. At least 10 other states have designated official state firearms, according to the NRA.”
This is an advisory vote only. Separate legislation would be required during a future legislative session to formally adopt the top choice determined this coming Nov. 3, MyNorthwest noted.
However, adding to the “color” of this election, MyNorthwest recalled, “The measure was declared an emergency, making it effective immediately upon the governor’s signature to ensure election administrators had enough time to place the question on the Nov. 3 ballot.”
Back in 2011, Utah—birthplace of the legendary John Moses Browning—became the first state to designate an official state gun. The Beehive State chose the Model 1911 semiautomatic pistol.
