OLYMPIA, WA — Washington state’s legislative session in 2025 is once again slated to weigh several house and senate bills that are geared to further restrict citizen rights in regard to firearms.
Fresh off their legislative victories in the last two sessions, Democrat congressmen in the Washington House and Senate moved forward with an additional five bills to be voted on by the time the session closes in March or April.
All five of the proposed bills represent enhancements of previously passed legislation signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee in 2023 and 2024.
Senate Bill 5098: The bill put forward by two senators from Seattle expands the restrictions in certain locations throughout the state of Washington. Claiming to be a prohibition of firearms in places “where children are likely to be present,” this new bill expands rounds of restrictions that began with polling places, school board, and city council meetings, and have now increased by over 5,000 potential locations.
Though engendering strong support in the senate, the proponents have amended the bill in recent weeks due to strong opposition, adding concealed carry permits to the list of exceptions from the scope of the bill. Frustrating to opponents of the bill, however, is the vague nature of the language, which is stating that any location children may be present is to be a gun-free zone, a stipulation that includes nearly anywhere in Washington state.
HB 1163 and SB 5140: A joint pair of bills that utilize the exact same language, these bills add enhanced language to previously signed laws governing how Washington citizens go about purchasing a firearm or apply for a concealed carry permit. In the previous laws, Washingtonians are now required to show that they have passed a firearm safety certification course in the calendar year.
The new laws, though, would require permits to purchase a firearm as well as install more rigorous requirements in applying for a concealed carry permit. Moreover, additional regulations would be in place for the tracking of all firearm purchases and CCP issuances.
HB 1132: Further curbing access to guns – following up an “assault weapons ban” that halted the manufacturing, selling, and purchasing of AR-15’s and other semi-automatic rifles longer than 30 inches – this new bill prohibits gun shop owners from selling guns and ammunition “in bulk” to citizens. The language of the bill, again, is vague and does not define “bulk.”
This bill stops those seeking to purchase guns from being able to buy more than one in a 30-day period. It puts similar restrictions on ammunition, limiting people to 100 rounds of .50 caliber ammunition and 1,000 rounds for anything smaller.
HB 1152: Enhancing the laws in place dictating mandatory safety and storage for all gun owners, the new bill being pushed forward would assess a $1,000 fine to a gun owner whose gun is stolen. A felony charge would also be on the table for the owner of the gun if it is used in a violent crime by a thief who is also unable to purchase or possess a firearm, such as a convicted felon or domestic abuser.
SB 5099: Perhaps the most onerous of the bills, but also the least publicized, SB 5099 is a further enhancement of what many gun owners and gun sellers have deemed the “Death of the FFL” bill. Washington state FFL’s (gun shops and sellers that have a Federal Firearms License from the ATF) in previous years were hit with new state requirements that have severely hampered them from maintaining their businesses with the additional regulations.
In the new bill, legislators are voting on added language that clarifies storage regulations for FFL’s, adding metal bars on windows and doors, sufficient lighting, and more access by Washington law enforcement officers to their databases in active investigations. In addition, the bill adds several new stipulations allowing Washington state to revoke a dealer’s license.
The question has to be asked, why is Washington’s legislature so ardently focused on gun control measures as a consistent aspect of the agenda over the last five-six legislative sessions?
Speaking to Austin Johnson — host of the Mid-Tier Thoughts podcast, former active duty military, as well as a gun-rights enthusiast and historian — the aim, he believes, is to set an unbeatable defense against future legal challenges.
Speaking about the need for citizens to get involved in political action, he warned that those who are trusting the legal system to solve their problems are fooling themselves.
“There is a mentality out there of ‘Oh, well, they can’t do that, it’s against the constitution, we’ll fight them in court.’ But there’s a lack of understanding of what that process looks like. (Initiative) 1639 (passed in 2018) was the bill that made it a little bit harder to buy semi-automatic firearms and have a slightly longer waiting period. That was it. That bill is still waiting on a decision and a court date from 2019. Meanwhile, how many other laws have been passed since then while we were waiting for someone over here to say, this was wrong.”
And many of those laws, Johnson points out, have been directed specifically at the FFL’s who are the only source for Washingtonians to purchase firearms in the state.
“People look at this and say, well it only affects the dealers,” Jeremy Ball, owner of Sharp Shooting Indoor Range and Gun Shop, said. “Well, yeah, but if the business isn’t profitable, they have to figure out ways to do things that meet these compliance regulations… It’s a massive undertaking and you’re going to see more FFL’s just say it’s not worth it.”
By his estimation and the thought of industry leaders, the first FFL Kill bill that passed in 2024, will cause the closure of up to 70% of state FFL’s by July 1, when the bill takes effect.
The time to act, he says, was yesterday.
The bills on the floor of the house and senate have not passed yet, and are still in committee. They will undoubtedly move forward to floor arguments and testimony, of which Ball, as a regular testifier on behalf of FFL’s in the state, will certainly be involved.
But he is just one man. And the need for citizen involvement is critical. People can begin by applying pressure to their legislators to act and to fight on behalf of their citizenry.
“There has to be more urgency,” Ball said. Communities that are rife with gun owners and families that have enjoyed the benefits of the God-given rights of the second amendment have to step up to protect their own rights.
"Get off your butt and vote," Johnson said, noting that only about 15% of Washington state gun owners currently participate in elections.
The apathy of many conservatives in Washington needs to be challenged so that they are provoked to action, otherwise the opponents of gun rights will not stop until all of the state of Washington is a “gun free zone.”
***This is Part 1 of a 5-Part series on gun rights and gun legislation in Washington state. Stay tuned for Part 2 which will look at the history of gun legislation over the past decade and what it says about the future of second amendment rights in the state.***
