Despite New Gun Controls, More Washington State Residents Are Exercising Their Right to Carry

Though Democrats in Washington State have passed a number of restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms in recent years; including bans on so-called assault weapons and “large capacity” magazines along with a 10-day waiting period on handgun purchases, the anti-gun lawmakers haven’t been able to stop more residents from exercising their right to keep and bear arms. 

In fact, according to Axios, the number of Washingtonians with a valid concealed carry license has hit an all-time high. 

Driving the news: Washington reached 709,334 active concealed pistol licenses (CPLs) at the end of June, an all-time high, Christine Anthony of the Department of Licensing tells Axios. 

• That’s an increase of more than 10,000 since December, per state data.

By the numbers: About 20% of CPL holders in Washington are women.

• King County, the state’s most populous county, also has the highest number of CPLs, nearly 114,000.
• Pierce County posted the biggest one-month gain, from May to June of this year, with 882 licenses.

What they’re saying: “Long story short, people are arming up, and they’re going to keep doing so ahead of the new restrictions,” Dave Workman, editor in chief of TheGunMag, a publication of the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation, tells Axios.

• With a state population of close to 8 million, “that means possibly 1 out of every 10 people you pass on any given day is licensed to carry concealed, and may even be armed,” he says.

It’s actually even more common than what Workman suggests. The number of adults 21 and over in Washington State is closer to 5.5 million, so it’s closer to 13% of the adult population exercising their right to bear arms (though maybe not on a daily basis). 

With a new permit-to-purchase law slated to take effect in 2027, I suspect that the number of concealed carry holders is only going to increase… at least in the short term. If that permit-to-purchase law isn’t thrown out as unconstitutional, though, it could very well have a chilling effect; not just on the number of concealed carry holders, but gun ownership in general. 

The law requires every purchaser to be fingerprinted and undergo mandatory training, including a live-fire component, before they can apply for a permit that allows them to buy a firearm. This will substantially increase the cost of gun ownership, and will make even more difficult for someone to obtain a firearm in a timely manner if they need one for self-defense. 

The state’s 10-day waiting period already serves as an artificial barrier to those victims of abuse, stalking, or break-ins who want to be able to protect themselves. The permit-to-purchase law will make things exponentially worse. Between finding and taking the mandated training course and then waiting up to 30 days for the Washington State Patrol to approve their application, would-be gun owners will be forced to cool their heels for over a month once they decide they want to buy a firearm… and that’s if the WSP is able to process applications in a timely manner. 

Given the months-long delays in processing carry permits in places like New York City and Los Angeles, I’m not particularly confident that will happen. State Patrol officials have warned that they’ll need to increase staff to handle the new requirements, and there’s no guarantee that lawmakers will give the agency the funds they need to actually comply with the law. In fact, an easy way to mess with would-be gun owners would be to ensure that the WSP is understaffed when it comes to processing permits. Sure, the state might get sued, but it could take months, if not years, before the courts order the legislature to provide enough funds for the State Patrol to conduct its checks within the mandated 30-day period. 

Between now and 2027, though, Washington State gun buyers have a few less hurdles to jump through, and that should keep the numbers headed in the right direction; both in terms of keeping and bearing arms. 

Editor’s Note: Help us continue to report the truth about these blatant attacks on our Second Amendment rights. 

Join Bearing Arms VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.