Various states all across the country participate in something called the Governor’s 20 program, a competition established by the National Rifle Association to recognize the twenty best law enforcement marksmen in each state. Or as the NRA describes it on their site:

The NRA Governor’s Twenty Program was designed to recognize the top twenty law enforcement officers from each state for excellence in Police Combat competition. Each state’s program is administered by the respective league or association. Typically, the top three scores for each officer is averaged, and the top twenty officers ranked and recognized at a banquet at the end of their season. Below you will find the number one shooter from each state.

The competitions are administered by local clubs in each state. Anything that encourages more law enforcement officers to train and improve their firearm proficiency is a good thing, right?

Well, it used to be. One of the participating states is Washington where the competitions were administered by the Washington State Police Pistol Association.

But because the program was started by and is affiliated with the NRA, Washington Governor Jay Inslee has determined that even handing out certificates to some of the state’s best law enforcement officers is utterly beyond the pale.

He had his PR flack send this letter to the vice president of the Washington State Rifle and Pistol Association: