Family of Frontier shooting victim speak at Capitol

Nyla Fritz, sister of one of the victims of the Frontier middle school shooting in Moses Lake, said she did not understand how after 21 years, the topic of safe gun storage is still up for debate.

On Thursday, Feb. 2, the anniversary of her brother’s death, Fritz and her sister Renee Hopkins, director of the Alliance on Gun Responsibility (AGR), spoke during the event.

Later that day, her cousin Sundae Delgado testified in support of the bill during the House Judicial committee hearing. They both shared the stories of how a member of their family was killed in a school shooting and several others died a few months later in what is now believed to be an interrupted suicide.

“It violently slammed my mind and my heart open to the fact this goes well beyond bumper sticker slogans, this devastation,” Delgado said.

House Bill 112, introduced by Rep. Ruth Kagi, D-Seattle, is a bill which would require dealers to provide or sell some sort of lock box or safe storage method for firearms as well as warn buyers of the liability of not safely storing their firearms. It would also create a penalty for leaving a gun in an area where a child or another prohibited person could access it. House Bill 1387 was sponsored by the chair of the House Judicial Committee, Rep. Laurie Jenkins, D-Tacoma. The bill was introduced at the request of Attorney General Bob Ferguson and would establish new licensing requirements for possession, transfer or manufacture of assault weapons or high capacity magazines. The bill also requires additional background check and record keeping requirement for the sale or transfer of assault weapons.

In the bill, an assault weapon is defined as a semiautomatic pistol, rifle or shotgun with a detachable magazine and a few other special features.

Jenkins said she is considering amendments on the bills and hopes to vote them out of the committee during the next executive session, Feb. 16.

Keely Hopkins, state liaison for the National Rifle Association testified in opposition of the bill. Hopkins said a current law, the Reckless Endangerment statute, already covers the areas this law would affect.

“At the end of the day, HB 1122 will only be used to punish grieving parents after a tragedy has occurred and training and education is the best way to prevent these type of accidents.”

Boyd Kneeland, the president of the Washington Arms Collectors and an NRA instructor also testified against the bill. He said he supported the spirit of the bill, safe storage, but felt it punished responsible gun owners.

“There is no need for this other than to single out guns as a unique source of danger,” Boyd said, “when we know that pools, detergent tablets and other things are vectors of accidents that cause fatalities.”

Fritz said she views the issue not from a survivor’s perspective, but as an educator. Fritz, who spends her time working with students who are her brother’s age, sees it as negligent not to hold adults accountable for keeping firearms out of the hands of children.

“I lost my brother. Moses Lake, the community, experienced a horrific tragedy in large part because a child had access to guns.” Fritz said. “I’m not an expert on laws, I’m someone who’s experienced horrific loss.”