Anti-Gun Advocate Now Pushing for $15-an-hour Minimum Wage in Seattle!

The same person who brought us Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility now wants to raise the minimum wage.

Venture capitalist Nick Hanauer says our minimum wage needs to be $15 an hour.  Currently the wage sits at $9.19 -- the highest in the nation.

Hanauer claims raising the wage would give more purchasing power to lower-income Americans. However, many business owners say they couldn't afford such a jump. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says this would hurt many small businesses that utilize young entry-level workers at minimum wage. These workers allow for increased productivity and savings that allow the business to grow.

As some of these workers move on to more skilled jobs, their place is taken by other entry-level employees. The Chamber says raising the wage would result in firms cutting jobs and hurting the people it's intended to help.

KOMO-TV in Seattle reports the city council is considering such a raise anyway:

In the Ballard neighborhood, some businesses are skeptical about the idea. Gabe Gagliardi is the owner of the Boar's Nest. The employees at his BBQ joint are paid hourly and Gagliardi said he wouldn't be able to afford $15. 'You can't just force businesses to pay more money to their employees.'"

Some labor unions are trying to organize a national strike among fast-food and retail workers Aug. 29 to show their support for the increase.

Hanauer is the founder of Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility, the group that backed and pushed for several controversial anti-gun bills that died in the legislature last year. Among them was mandatory annual gun safety checks in citizens' homes that would have been conducted by county sheriffs, who were in opposition to the measure.