Washington residents could soon have to have a permit to purchase firearms in the state under a new bill making its way through the House.
On Wednesday the proposed legislation had a public hearing in the House Appropriations Committee. The bill would require Washingtonians to take safety training classes to obtain a permit to purchase a firearm. Dealers would be strictly prohibited from selling to anyone in the state without a permit.
Additionally, the bill would clarify that dealers must wait 10 days after a background check is requested and must receive notification that a buyer is eligible to purchase a firearm through the Washington State Patrol Firearms Background Check Program before they can sell firearms to an individual.
Committee staff noted during a public hearing that residents would still be able to inherit firearms without having to get a permit, however.
“Handling, storing and using firearms safely is important to people all over the political spectrum,” said Karyn Brownson, director of training with the violence and injury prevention team at King County Public Health.
She said that 42% of non-fatal firearms injuries in King County are due to unintentional shootings.
“This raises concerns about whether firearms owners are getting the information they need about how to use them safely,” Brownson said. “Many firearms owners do access safety training voluntarily, but those who don’t still deserve information about how to be safe.”
She said the safety training requirement has “potential to protect all firearms owners from harm.” Additionally, she added, the waiting period to purchase in the legislation would reduce impulsive suicides by firearms.
The bill passed out of the House Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee during an executive session on Jan. 27. The vote was split by party lines with all Republicans on the committee voting no. It will have to be voted out of the House Appropriations Committee before it can make it to the floor for debate.
Rep. Liz Berry, D-Seattle, is the prime sponsor of SHB 1143 at the request of the governor’s office. A companion bill in the Washington Senate is sponsored by Sen. Marko Liias, D-Mukilteo.
“We require training and a license to drive a car or go fishing, it’s just common sense to require a license for purchasing a firearm,” Berry said in a statement to the House Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee on Jan. 17. “Permit to purchase helps to make sure that guns are only purchased by responsible individuals by requiring an identity verification, completed background check and safety training.”
Berry sponsored and passed legislation in 2022 to ban “ghost guns” in Washington state.
Not everyone at the House Appropriations public hearing on Feb. 8 was in favor of the legislation.
Aoibheann Cline, the Northwest regional director for the National Rifle Association, told the committee that the organization opposes the legislation because it is an “unfunded mandate” and said the NRA believed it would cost the state and residents “exuberant amounts.”
Cline said the bill is similar to ballot measure 114 in Oregon, which is now tied up in courts after voters passed the initiative in November. That measure also required safety training and a permit to purchase firearms.
Permits would be valid for five years, and the Washington State Patrol would be responsible for determining fees. If passed, the law would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.
Sixteen other states already have licensing laws to purchase firearms including Connecticut, the District of Columbia and Hawaii.
The last day of the Legislative session is April 23.
