Gun lobby group receives open government award

Washington Coalition for Open Government has bestowed a Key Award on the Second Amendment Foundation, Bellevue-based linchpin of the gun-rights lobby in Washington state.

Seattle Police Sgt. Paul Gracy carries a military surface to air missile launcher that was brought to the Seattle gun buyback event . (Joshua Trujillo/seattlepi.com)

The WCOG award recognizes groups that do something notable to advance the cause of open government.

The Second Amendment Foundation was honored for forcing the City of Seattle to acknowledge that it did not fully comply with the states public records law during Mayor Mike McGinns gun-buyback program.

The award was presented Tuesday to Second Amendment Foundation leader Alan Gottlieb by WCOG leader Toby Nixon, a former Republican state representative.

The Second Amendment Foundation won a $38,000 settlement in which the city acknowledged it had failed to disclose all relevant information in response to a request. The city said it did so unintentionally and promised to improve its record keeping.

The gun-rights group not only won gold but struck gold, since one missing document was a letter in which Washington Ceasefire the states leading gun-safety group told the city that gun buybacks were of little value.

The gun buyback was a city response to the murder of 20 first-graders at a Newtown, Connecticut school. McGinn and the Seattle Police Department collected 756 guns on a raw January day. As the buyback was going on, however,a kind of gun bazaar operated for blocks around the sale site, with signs offering to buy and sell firearms.

Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles: Recognizing the Second Amendment Foundation with a major award seems over the top.

The Second Amendment Foundation acted swiftly and properly to hold the mayors office accountable for the incomplete response to a legitimate public records request, Nixon said in a statement.

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Gun lobby group receives open government award