The National Rifle Association is promising supporters it will carry on the fight against Initiative 594, using its “philosophically supportive majority” in the Washington Legislature when it convenes in January.

“We are already discussing legislative remedies to the most onerous provisions,” the NRA said in a letter to supporters. The Gun Lobby’s big gun defends the effort it made in opposing I-594, which requires criminal background checks for those purchasing firearms at gun shows and over the Internet. It blames billionaires the measure’s landslide passage.

“Please bear in mind that, in our fight to defeat I-594, NRA faced unprecedented spending by a handful of billionaires and wealthy elitists, who gave the anti-gun lobby over $10 million to spend in support of I-594,” the NRA’s letter argues.

Not to despair, however. The NRA claims it drew a bead on other targets.

“In the end, we were successful in achieving a number of very significant victories in elections all across the country, most notably electing a pro-gun U.S. Senate, which will pay dividends for gun owners nationwide,” the letter boasts.

Specifically, while Washington voters were closing the “gun show loophole,” they were also voting to elect legislators supported by and supportive of the NRA.

“We won virtually every critical race and will be aided by a philosophically supportive majority in Olympia,” the letter boasts.

“Moving forward, NRA will continue to focus public awareness on the ineffectiveness of I-594 to stem violence or prevent determined criminals from getting guns,” it added. “We will also expose gun control supporters’ attempts to transform the federal and state background check systems into registries of gun transfers and, ultimately, registries of gun possession.”

The letter raises a question, and a name that is not mentioned.

The NRA’s state lobbyist, Brian Judy, delivered a summer speech in Silverdale, likened I-594 and background checks to firearms policies of Nazi Germany. He questioned why anyone Jewish — singling out Seattle entrepreneur Nick Hanauer — would donated to such a cause.

Judy drew out the comparison, appearing to argue that gun policy was one of the triggers that caused Jewish ancestors to flee the Third Reich.

As it happens, the Democrats’ premier tracker in the state — Zach Wurtz — was in the audience and had his recorder on. The remarks by Judy triggered a strong reaction, with calls for his resignation. The NRA reacted with icy silence.

The Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility, which sponsored I-594, will unveil its own legislative proposals next month.

The “philosophically supportive majority” will find itself in a field of fire come January.