Last February, Joseph, the son of Sandra Ramirez, was at the house of a boy whose parents had a gun, hanging out with friends.
Ramirez told the House Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary last week that one of the kids discovered the gun in an open safe. Joseph Martinez, 13, was killed when the gun went off.
According to Richland resident Ramirez, this tragedy may have been avoided if the gun had been securely kept away. I don’t think the shooter is solely to blame for this incident. I believe that adults who own firearms should be held responsible.
Ramirez was giving testimony in favor of House Bill 1152, which would mandate that gun owners secure their firearms in their homes and vehicles. If someone is hurt as a result of improper storage, the penalty for breaking the proposed law increases in severity from a civil infraction to a felony.
In an effort to reduce gun violence in Washington, Democratic lawmakers are trying to approve a number of laws this year, including the secure storage bill.
Gun purchases would need a permit, bulk purchases of firearms and ammunition would be restricted, firearms and ammunition sales would be subject to an excise tax, new regulations for weapons dealers would be added, and the public areas where people can carry firearms would be further restricted.
A few of the bills have already been approved by legislative committees. A House subcommittee was supposed to vote on a number of other items last week, but due to the inability of some members to attend, the votes were moved to this Friday.
The secure storage bill was mentioned by House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, on Wednesday as a gun reform initiative that her caucus is considering making a priority.
The measure would violate the rights of lawful gun owners, according to the National Rifle Association, gun store owners, and competition shooters. Instead, they argued, politicians ought to enact harsher criminal penalties, particularly for gang violence.
Among other gun-related measures, Democrats have prohibited the sale of semi-automatic rifles, high-capacity magazines of ammunition, and untraceable ghost firearms without serial numbers in recent years.
The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence gave Washington’s current gun restrictions an A-minus rating, placing it tenth in the nation.
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the gun death rate in Washington rose 11% from the year before, to 1,022 deaths in 2022, the most recent year for which complete federal data is available. Of those, about two-thirds committed suicide.
With 32 fatalities that year, guns were also one of the main causes of death for kids in Washington, ranking higher than drownings and comparable to auto accidents.
Permission to buy
A bill requiring permit holders to obtain a firearm before obtaining one is possibly the main component of Democrats’ strategy to further control firearms this session.
There is already a 10-day waiting period in place under state law before vendors can deliver firearms to a buyer. Before making a purchase, buyers must also demonstrate that they have finished a firearm safety course.
Potential purchasers would need to apply for a five-year permission from the Washington State Patrol under House Bill 1163, which was introduced by state Representative Liz Berry, a Democrat from Seattle. The permit would be issued by the state patrol’s Firearms Background Check Program in 30 days, or 60 days if the applicant lacked a state ID.
As long as the applicant is not prohibited from purchasing firearms, free on bond pending trial or sentencing on felony charges, or the target of an active arrest warrant, the state must grant the permit. Additionally, they still need to demonstrate that they completed a safety course within the previous five years.
Applicants may contest the judgment in court if it is rejected. If the permit holder no longer satisfies the requirements, the state may cancel it.
Every year, the State Patrol expects to receive 200,000 applications for permits. More than 500,000 requests for background checks were made to the agency in 2022. Roughly one percent failed.
In 2022, Julia Berus, a senior at Ingraham High School in Seattle, claimed to have been within feet of a student who was shot and murdered at the school. She maintained that by requiring background checks prior to a firearm transaction rather than at the point of sale, a permit to purchase safeguards the public and prevents firearms from ending up in the wrong hands.
Last week, Berus told a House panel, “I personally do not want to be in a situation where these guns do end up in dangerous hands again.” The other 1,000 pupils at my high school, for whom I am currently speaking, don’t either.
its constitutional right to bear arms shouldn’t need a permission, according to its opponents.
How many of you would vehemently object to the requirement that one obtain a permit in order to write, speak, petition, own property, peacefully gather, attend religious services, or cast a ballot? asked competitive shooter Allen Ernst. You know, our state and federal constitutions grant us other important individual rights.
With a committee vote set for Friday, the measure is already on track to make more progress than it did the previous year. The law would go into force in November 2026 if it were approved.
The Senate version’s sponsor, Senator Marko Liias, stated that this year might see the measure reach the governor’s desk.
I’m quite sure that we’re moving forward. Early this month, Edmonds Democrat Liias claimed.
Permit-to-purchase legislation are in effect in about a dozen additional states.
Purchasing 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.
The federal excise tax would be topped off by Washington’s tax. House Bill 1386’s estimated $35 million in revenue for the 2029–2031 biennium would go toward initiatives aimed at preventing gun violence.
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.
Limiting the quantity of firearms or ammunition that can be purchased is another proposal.House Bill 1132 seeks to prohibit gun stores from selling more than one firearm to a single customer in a given month, along with 1,000 rounds of ammunition in all other calibers and 100 rounds of 0.50 caliber ammunition. At the moment, the state has no such limitations.
A $500 punishment would be imposed on violators.
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.
Among the victims was Carrie Parsons from Seattle. Her mother, Ann-Marie Parsons, urged lawmakers last week to approve the restrictions on bulk purchases. She described it as a simple, logical, and efficient method of saving 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.
Fivestates have passed lawslimiting 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 5099would 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 ownersaren t allowed to open carry.
This year, Democrats are looking to add more public places to the list of gun-free zones.
Senate Bill 5098would 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.
— Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard
Washington State Standard is part ofStates Newsroom, the nation s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
