Plans for new gun regulations progress in Washington Legislature

(Photo by Aristide Economopoulos/NJ Monitor)

Sandra Ramirez’s son Joseph was hanging out with friends last February at the home of a boy whose parents owned a gun.

One of the children found the gun in an unlocked safe, Ramirez told the House Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary last week. The gun went off, killing Joseph Martinez, 13.

“This tragedy could have been prevented if the firearm was properly locked up,” said Ramirez, of Richland. “I don’t just see the shooter as responsible for this happening. I see the gun owners, the adults, as who should be held accountable.”

Ramirez was testifying in support of House Bill 1152, a proposal in the Washington Legislature to require gun owners to lock up their weapons in their cars and homes. The severity of the punishment for violating the proposed law rises based on the consequences, from a civil infraction to a felony if unsafe storage leads to someone being injured.

The secure storage measure is part of a package of legislation Democratic lawmakers are looking to pass this year in hopes of curbing gun violence in Washington. 

The bills would require a permit to purchase guns, restrict bulk purchases of ammunition and firearms, impose an excise tax on firearm and ammunition sales, add new requirements for weapons dealers and further limit the public places where people can carry firearms.

Legislative committees have passed a couple of the bills already. A House panel was set to vote on several more last week, but some members couldn’t make the meeting, so the votes were pushed to this Friday.

On Wednesday, House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, cited the secure storage bill as a gun reform measure her caucus is interested in prioritizing.

The National Rifle Association, gun shop owners and competitive shooters argued the legislation would infringe on the rights of lawful gun owners. They said lawmakers should instead implement tougher criminal punishments, specifically for gang violence.

In recent years, Democrats have banned untraceable ghost guns that don’t have serial numbers as well as the sale of semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity ammunition magazines, among other gun laws.

Washington’s current gun laws have an A-minus rating from the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, ranking ninth in the country.

In 2022, the latest year for which comprehensive federal data is available, the gun death rate in Washington increased 11% from the previous year, for a total of 1,022 deaths, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About two-thirds of those were suicide. 

Guns were also one of the leading causes of death among Washington children that year, claiming 32 lives, on par with car crashes and higher than drownings.

Permit to purchase

Perhaps the centerpiece of Democrats’ plan to further regulate guns this session is a measure to require buyers to get a permit before being able to get a firearm.

State law already includes a 10-day waiting period before sellers can deliver guns to a buyer. Purchasers also have to prove they’ve completed a firearm safety program before they can buy.

Under House Bill 1163 from state Rep. Liz Berry, D-Seattle, prospective buyers would have to apply for a five-year permit from the Washington State Patrol. The state patrol’s Firearms Background Check Program would issue the permit within 30 days, or 60 days if the applicant doesn’t have a state ID.

The state would have to issue the permit as long as the applicant isn’t prohibited from buying guns, free on bond awaiting a trial or sentencing on felony charges, or the subject of an outstanding arrest warrant. They also still have to prove completion of a safety course within the past five years.

If denied, applicants can challenge the decision in court. The state can revoke a permit if the person no longer meets the required conditions.

The state patrol anticipates receiving 200,000 permit applications each year. In 2022, the agency received over 500,000 background check requests. About 1% failed.

Julia Berus, an Ingraham High School senior, said she was just feet away when a student was shot and killed at the Seattle school in 2022. She argued a permit to purchase “protects the public by ensuring the background checks occur before a firearm purchase, rather than at the point of sale, making sure that guns don’t fall into dangerous hands.”

“I personally do not want to be in a situation again where these guns do end up in dangerous hands,” Berus told a House panel last week. “Neither do the other 1,000 students at my high school that I am speaking on behalf of right now.”

Opponents said their constitutional right to bear arms shouldn’t require a permit.

“How many of you would adamantly reject the idea of having to get a permit to speak, write, attend religious services, peacefully assemble, petition, own property or vote?” asked Allen Ernst, a competitive shooter. “You know, other key individual rights afforded to us in our federal and state constitutions.”

The measure is already poised to advance further than last year, with a committee vote scheduled for Friday. If passed, the law would take effect in November 2026.

Sen. Marko Liias, the sponsor of the Senate version, said this could be the year the legislation makes it to the governor’s desk. 

“I feel really confident that we’ve got momentum,” Liias, a Democrat from Edmonds, said early this month.

About a dozen other states have permit-to-purchase laws on the books. 

Buying and selling

Democrats also want to impose an 11% excise tax on the sale of firearms and ammunition, with exceptions for police and the military.

Washington’s tax would be on top of the federal excise tax. Revenue from House Bill 1386, projected at $35 million in the 2029-2031 biennium, would be earmarked for programs focused on gun violence prevention. 

Seattle already has a similar excise tax, costing $25 per firearm and 2 cents per round of ammunition that is 0.22-caliber or less and 5 cents per round above that size.

Another proposal would limit how many guns or bullets someone can buy. House Bill 1132 aims to stop gun shops from selling more than one gun to an individual buyer in a month, as well as 100 rounds of 0.50-caliber ammunition and 1,000 rounds of all other ammo. The state currently has no such restrictions.

Violators would be subject to a $500 fine.

In the 2017 shooting that left 60 dead in Las Vegas, the shooter spewed over 1,000 rounds from 15 guns in under 10 minutes.

Carrie Parsons, of Seattle, was one of the victims. Her mother, Ann-Marie Parsons, urged lawmakers last week to approve the restrictions on bulk purchases. She called it a “straightforward, sensible, effective way to save lives.”

Sports shooters said the proposal would stop them from buying enough ammo to compete.

“Shooters who are preparing for the Olympics or other large events can expend anywhere from five to 10,000 rounds a month,” said Brian Keelan, of the Washington State Rifle and Pistol Association.

Five states have passed laws limiting the number of guns people can purchase in certain time frames. 

Democrats also want to strengthen requirements approved last year for gun shops. In July, employees of firearm dealers will have to undergo fingerprinting and a background check. Shops will also need additional security and surveillance systems.

Senate Bill 5099 would require the state patrol to inspect 10% of licensed sellers per year. It also requires dealers and their employees to complete training on how to recognize illegal activity.

Critics said the legislation is overly burdensome for firearm retailers. Jeremy Ball, the owner of Sharpshooting Indoor Range and Gun Shop in Spokane, said the state is losing 20 sellers licensed federally per month because of the additional restrictions.

“None of us can find any data that shows that raising the barrier of entry for firearms retailers and consolidating our industry to publicly traded corporations who care absolutely nothing about the community other than their bottom line is going to yield the results you’re looking for,” Ball told a Senate committee last week.

Sen. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek, the bill’s sponsor, called the bill “common sense for responsible dealers.”

“They ensure firearms stay out of the wrong hands,” he said. “This bill isn’t just about compliance, it’s about accountability and safety.”

The Senate Law & Justice Committee advanced Lovick’s bill onto the Ways & Means panel along party lines last week.

Open carry

Last year, lawmakers added public libraries, zoos, aquariums and transit stations to the list of places where gun owners aren’t allowed to open carry.

This year, Democrats are looking to add more public places to the list of gun-free zones. 

Senate Bill 5098 would also make it a gross misdemeanor to knowingly carry a gun in parks “where children are likely to be present,” state or local public buildings and county fairgrounds. The restrictions in public buildings don’t include rest areas or ferry terminals.

Gun owners who have a concealed pistol license would be exempt. Signage at each facility would let patrons know about the prohibition.

NRA lobbyist Aoibheann Cline said the expansion would “make it virtually impossible to lawfully carry firearms in Washington.”

Sen. Javier Valdez, D-Seattle, cited the example of an August shooting at the Grant County Fair that injured two teen girls to explain the importance of his bill.

The bill has passed out of a Senate committee and now awaits action in Ways & Means.