Washington: Legislative Session Adjourns Sunday

On Sunday, the Washington Legislature will adjourn its 2017 Legislative Session.  Numerous bills were filed this session that would impact your Second Amendment rights, with a few passing and reaching Governor Inslee’s desk for his signature.

Governor Inslee signed House Bill 1100 on April 6.  Sponsored by Rep. David Taylor (R-15), HB 1100 creates a renewal notice postcard for concealed pistol licenses that will be sent out 90 days before the expiration.  This is a simple way to help remind citizens to renew their concealed pistol licenses in a timely manner.

House Bill 1612, sponsored by Rep. Tina Orwall (D-33), addresses one of the problems created by the overwhelmingly flawed I-594 law by creating an exemption to allow for temporary private transfers to prevent suicide.  Further, this bill expands the definition of family to include parents-in-law and siblings-in-law, and provides that transfers between family members will now include loans, not just gifts, as was passed with I-594.  HB 1612 now awaits the Governor’s signature.

Senate Bill 5268, sponsored by Sen. Dean Takko (D-19), creates an optional renewal notice for holders of concealed pistol licenses where applicants who choose to list an email address will receive a renewal notice email within 60 days of their permit’s expiration date. This is another simple way to help remind citizens to renew their concealed pistol licenses in a timely manner. SB 5268 now awaits the governor’s signature.

Senate Bill 5552, sponsored by Sen. Jamie Pedersen (D-43), addresses some of the problems created by the overwhelmingly flawed I-594 law. It provides certain exemptions to the ban on private transfers and clarifications to certain areas of the law that have caused much confusion. SB 5552 now awaits the Governor’s signature.

Unfortunately, Senate Bill 5256, sponsored by Sen. Joe Fain (R-47), also heads to the Governor for his signature.  SB 5256 allows for a new “permanent” order with no expiration date, which could result in the loss of Second Amendment rights without due process.  Amendments introduced by state Senator Mike Padden (R-4) and state Representative Jay Rodne (R-5) were adopted in both the Senate and House versions of the bill to allow respondents to petition once per year to have their firearms rights restored by showing there has been a material change in circumstances.  Your NRA-ILA has worked to make improvements to the bill to protect against infringements on Second Amendment rights, yet remains opposed to the legislation as there is not sufficient due process built in prior to granting these orders that could ultimately result in the permanent removal of a constitutional right.

Through the combined efforts of citizens like you, vigilant legislators defeated several other anti-gun bills listed below:

Last year, Attorney General Bob Ferguson promised to introduce legislation this session to ban the sale of popular and commonly-owned modern semi-automatic rifles and standard capacity ammunition magazines.  As expected, Sen. David Frockt (D-Seattle) sponsored Senate Bill 5050 to ban those magazines and Rep. Strom Peterson (D-Edmonds) sponsored House Bill 1387 to establish an onerous licensing scheme.

House Bill 1384, sponsored by Rep. Roger Goodman (D-45), would have also amended the existing “Sexual Assault Protective Orders” to allow for a new “permanent” order with no expiration date.

House Bill 1483, sponsored by Rep. Tana Senn (D-41), would have allowed for the destruction of all firearms confiscated by or forfeited to the Washington State Patrol.  Like other seized items, these firearms should be sold by law-enforcement to generate revenue, instead of spending money to have them destroyed.

House Bill 1122, sponsored by Rep. Ruth Kagi (D-32), would have threatened law-abiding gun owners with huge fines and potential imprisonment to force them to lock up their firearms and render them useless for any self-defense scenario.  In addition to being unenforceable, such a bill is a one-size fits all approach and a solution to a non-existent problem.

While the 2017 Washington Legislative Session is coming to an end, lawmakers have announced that they will reconvene for a special session on Monday to address other issues. Your NRA will continue to monitor the session in Olympia for action relating to Second Amendment rights.