This New Seattle Law Has Gun Owners Up in Arms

By Ready to Fire News On Jul 16, 2018

As if there aren’t enough problems for gun owners on the west coast of the U.S., Seattle patriots are being unfairly attacked for a failure to lock up their weaponry.

A new Seattle gun law that goes into effect towards the end of 2018 proposes significant fines for individuals who do not comply with new mandatory safe gun storage guidelines. While these guidelines have not yet been defined by the Seattle City Council who passed the law in July 2018, it is expected that they could be quite burdensome for taxpayers in that great state.

The new legislation purports to be focused on protecting minors and others from improperly accessing weapons that have not been stored according to safety regulations. While this seems like a valuable concept, the way this particular law is being put into place could end up limiting gun rights more than offering protection for those who need it.

Having unsecured guns in a household has been linked to higher rates of accidental injuries, and this law is pitched as attempting to alleviate those concerns. The research included in the legislation notes that more than 150,000 in King County do not manage their weapons in a way that would be approved by this upcoming bill. Guns would need to be unloaded and locked away, making it difficult to access a weapon in the event of an emergency or home invasion.

Penalties from failing to secure a firearm in accordance with the new law begin with a fine of $500, and grow to over $10,000 if the weapon happened to be used in a crime that resulted in serious injury or death. A fine of up to $1,000 is the starting point if a firearm is accessed by a minor or “at risk” individual. What’s worse, if it is found that an unsecured weapon was used in a mass shooting, courts will have the power to require gun owners to pay multiple $10,000 fines, and even may include restitution.

While it may be difficult for Seattle policemen and women to broadly enforce the law, it is expected to encourage gun owners to be more careful with their weapons and storage. There will be a strong push for community education on how to properly protect your family from a loaded weapon and the correct procedures for gun storage safety. Fortunately, Washington state law still provides broad protection for 2nd Amendment rights relating to the possession, registration, licensing, sale and acquisition of firearms.

It remains to be seen how far the Seattle area law enforcement officials are going to enforce this unusual law. A police spokesperson did share that they will not be going into the homes of individuals except under serious circumstances, but even so — this new law is limiting the rights of individuals to keep and bear arms in Seattle.

~ Ready to Fire News