Target left for volunteers supporting gun show background checks

SEATTLE — A target riddled with bullet holes was found at the doorstep of the Seattle-King County League of Women Voters earlier this month

Staff there believe it was a direct threat because of their support for I-594 – the initiative that would require background checks for gun sales online, at gun shows, and even exchanges person-to–person.

The staff member who found the target immediately called 911. SPD told KIRO 7 detectives are investigating this incident as a threat.

Staff at the League of Women Voters did not find a note or writing on the target, and they told KIRO 7, they don’t know who left it.

“I think it’s someone who disagrees with our stance, and at a minimum they’re trying to scare us,” said Allison Allison Feher, Administrative Manager for League of Women Voters of Seattle-King County.

Feher believes the target was meant for the league, even though the building at 1620 18th Ave. is home to several other offices, including the Deaf Blind Service Center and the Helen Keller Center.

Staff believe the target was meant to intimidate and prevent them from gathering support for the initiative that would require state background checks for every gun purchase, whether from a gun show, online, or even exchanged from a private party.

Dave Workman, senior editor for “The Gun Mag,” and a supporter of Initiative 591, which opposes I-594, believes the notion of the target being a threat may be overstated.

“I think there’s some over-reaction going on here,” Workman said. “There’s a lot of difference between a political statement and a threat. Whoever did that certainly does not represent the firearms community."

Workman noted that the target had small holes, which he said could have been made by a pellet gun, and the holes were not close to the target’s bull's eye.

“It’s juvenile,” he said. “These people who support I-591 are a pretty dedicated lot. They might show up in front of the office and picket the place. But leaving a target like that, that's first-grade stuff, it's kind of silly."

The manager for the League of Women Voters told KIRO 7 the person who left the target, missed the mark.

"We believe in gun control, and certainly the women who started this organization faced a lot of threats and didn't let it stop them, so we're not going let it stop us," she said.

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