The Washington State Supreme Court gave law-abiding Washington gun owners something to celebrate.
In a unanimous opinion, the Court ruled that the City of Edmonds’ storage ordinances violated the state’s preemption law. These ordinances required firearms to be locked at all times within the home, and imposed liability on gun owners if their firearms were ever accessed by a prohibited person. The case is captioned Bass v. City of Edmonds.
This victory comes after the Washington Court of Appeals issued a similar opinion last year. And yesterday, the state’s high court rejected the narrow reading of the preemption statute proposed by the City of Edmonds and the Everytown attorneys that were representing the city in this litigation: “The legislature plainly meant to broadly preempt local lawmaking concerning firearms except where specifically authorized.”
This ruling is a win for gun owners in Washington, and more importantly, a win against activist local governments that attempt to illegally infringe on their citizens’ rights. This decision says clearly that local governments in the Evergreen State do not have the authority to restrict Second Amendment rights.
The ruling will have an immediate impact across the state, too. The City of Seattle has similar gun storage ordinances.~~~~~~~~
Washington State gun rights summary, by the National Rifle Association
