Washington State Dems Pushing Expanded ‘Gun-Free Zones’

Anti-gun Democrats in Washington State are wasting no time in the opening days of the 2025 session, with a half-dozen gun control bills already in the hopper. On Tuesday, lawmakers will hold the first hearing on at least one piece of legislation; a bill that would expand the already lengthy list of “gun-free zones” in the state. 

SB 5098 would bar lawful carrying in parks, recreation areas “where children are likely to be present”, as well as the entire premises of all buildings owned by state or local governments. The legislation also takes aim at carrying during county fairs, though there is an exception to the “gun-free zone” when gun shows are taking place. 

The sweeping language flies in the face of what the Supreme Court has said about “sensitive places”. In Bruen, the Court made clear that “gun-free zones” must be the exception, not the rule, but Democrats in blue states have been pushing far beyond Bruen in making broad swathes of publicly accessible places off limits to lawful carry. 

A “no guns allowed” sign posted at a local park isn’t going to stop someone with evil or malicious intent from carrying out a criminal act, and it probably won’t dissuade every parent who possesses a valid carry license from violating the law in order to protect their kids either. In other words, this bill is far more likely to create paperwork criminals out of legal gun owners than to prevent violent crime. Given the anti-2A hostility in Olympia, I don’t think that’s an accident. 

SB 5098 is just one of the many new restrictions that anti-gunners are hoping to put in place this year. 

House Bill 1163 and its companion bill, Senate Bill 5140 increase requirements to purchase, transfer or own a firearm. Supporters say the bills could reduce gun violence and increase public safety.

Critics call them an overreach, further impeding constitutional rights. 

Three more bills address gun control issues.

HB 1132: Enhancing public safety by limiting bulk purchases and transfers of firearms and ammunition.

HB 1152: Enhancing public safety by establishing secure storage requirements for firearms in vehicles and residences.

HB 1163 and SB 5140 would create a permit-to-purchase system requiring every would-be gun owner to provide the state with proof of their training, a set of fingerprints, and (of course) an application fee before they can exercise their fundamental right to keep and bear arms. 

HB 1132, meanwhile, not only creates a one-gun-a-month policy, but would ration ammunition purchases as well. Retailers would not be allowed to “deliver more than 100 rounds of .50 caliber ammunition or more than 1,000 rounds of any other caliber of ammunition” to a purchaser within a 30-day period. Law enforcement is exempt, of course, but competitive shooters, firearm instructors, and anyone else who might shoot more than 1,000 rounds a month are not. 

HB 1152 mandates that gun owners keep their firearms disabled with a lock or locked in a gun safe unless one is actively being carried or “readily controlled”, while also requiring firearms stored in vehicles to be stored unloaded “in a container that is opaque, locked, hard-sided, and affixed within the vehicle,” with the container concealed from view from outside the vehicle, which must be locked. That would impose ridiculous restrictions on virtually every concealed carry holder who drives a vehicle, requiring them to unload their firearm every time they have to leave their carry gun behind thanks to one of the state’s numerous “gun-free zones”. 

The initial penalties for most of these bills are fines, not jail time, which further undercuts the argument that they’re meant to deter criminal activity. These pieces of legislation are aimed directly at lawful gun owners, who are apparently more of a concern for Democrats in Olympia than the violent criminals who’ve been driving up the crime rates over the past few years. Those responsible for drive-by shootings, home invasions, and carjackings will shrug off these new efforts to infringe our right to keep and bear arms. It will be lawful gun owners who’ll pay the price for the Democratic assault on our fundamental civil rights.