Olympia – Rep. Brady Walkinshaw (D-Seattle) and Sen. Cyrus Habib (D-Bellevue, Senate Democratic Whip) have proposed legislation which would provide local authorities the ability to regulate firearms in certain public places, including: buses, parks, libraries and community centers.
For over 30 years in our state, our local towns, cities, and counties have been blocked from taking action on their own to prevent gun violence because of the statewide preemption.
“This commonsense legislation allows our communities to take responsible action to regulate firearms in certain public spaces,” said Rep. Walkinshaw. “We’ve upheld this right to limit firearm access in our schools, and there’s no reason why our public parks or our libraries, where kids play and learn, should be any different.”
HB 2460/SB 6351, would give cities, towns, counties, and other municipalities, authority to enact laws and ordinances to regulate the possession of firearms in one or more of the following: designated public park spaces, recreational facilities, on any mode of public transportation or associated transit facility, or on the premises of a library.
“Our local communities will have the ability to adopt a responsible approach to help address the epidemic of firearm violence in whichever way makes the most sense for them,” said Habib. “Already in 2016, there have been hundreds of firearms related tragedies across the United States.”
