Bill Adding ‘Gun-Free Zones’ Passes Washington State Senate

Washington State has already imposed crippling restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms in recent years by banning so-called assault weapons and large capacity magazines, imposing a 10-day waiting period on the purchase of firearms, criminalizing private transfers of firearms without a background check, and numerous other restrictions. 

Now the Democrat majority in the legislature is looking to limit where those with concealed carry permits can lawfully carry by adding several new “sensitive places” to state law. 

Sponsored by Sen. Javier Valdez (D-Seattle), the bill seeks to make parks, county fairgrounds, and community events safer by limiting weapon possession in these areas.

“This bill has been a long time coming,” Valdez said. “People across Washington have told me they want parks, county fairgrounds, and community events to be safe places for their families. We’ve listened, we’ve done the work, and I’m grateful the Senate has voted to move it forward again.”

Senate Bill 5098 specifically targets designated park facilities such as playgrounds, sports fields, community and teen centers, skate parks, and water play areas.

It also extends restrictions to certain state and local public buildings, as well as county fairs and their facilities during public events. Facilities affected by the bill are required to post signage at common public access points to inform the public of these restrictions.

Unlike Washington State law that prohibits carry in public libraries;• certain zoos and aquariums; and• transit stations and transit facilities, SB 5098 does not contain an exception for individuals with a concealed carry permit. Instead, it’s a blanket prohibition on possessing firearms in all park facilities as well as all state or local public buildings. There is no opt-out provision for localities that want to continue to allow lawful concealed carry in these places either, though some county sheriffs and local law enforcement may choose not to enforce the law unless there’s an underlying violent crime involved. 

Anti-gunners have been pushing the idea that anyplace where “vulnerable populations” like children might be found can be deemed a “sensitive place” where lawful carry can be banned without violating the Second Amendment, often citing the Supreme Court’s language in Heller suggesting that banning guns in schools is a longstanding practice and part of our national tradition of gun regulation. 

The Court, however, has never embraced such an expansive view, and while there are historical laws banning arms at fairs and markets, those laws typically only prohibited bearing arms “in terror” to the populace. Someone carrying a concealed firearm isn’t going to terrify others, because others aren’t even going to be aware that a gun is being carried. 

Still, multiple courts across the country have cited that language to uphold laws prohibiting carry in parks, playgrounds, museums, libraries, and even public transportation. Washington State is under the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which, while not quite as hostile to the Second Amendment as its been in the past, still has a majority of 2A opponents and skeptics serving on the bench. 

All that is to say that if SB 5098 becomes law, I’m not sure that the courts are going to be of much help to gun owners, at least not until a lawsuit reaches SCOTUS. 

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