(The Center Square) – After Democrats pushed a bill Tuesday to ban the possession of a firearm at more than 5,300 places, Republicans managed to add an exemption Thursday for people with a concealed pistol license.
The majority attempted to do the same last year when passing another bill to ban the possession of firearms and weapons at several other locations. However, like Thursday, the minority convinced their peers across the aisle to add the CPL exemption.
Last year, Senate Bill 5444 did include a CPL exemption, but only for restricted areas of law enforcement facilities with written permission. The Senate Law & Justice Committee later amended it to exempt CPL holders at libraries, zoos, aquariums, parks and other places without permission.
Individuals who testified during Tuesday’s public hearing over Senate Bill 5098 pointed out the same thing, except this time, the exemption only extended to color and honor guards for burials and interment ceremonies.
“This is a common-sense amendment that says that CPL holders have roughly one-twenty-fifth of the homicide rate,” Sen. Jeff Holy, R-Cheney, said Thursday, speaking to his amendment. “And I’m not talking about legal or illegal, just the homicide rate [of the] average citizen.”
While there is limited data on how much CPL holders contribute to the homicide rate, according to the Violence Policy Center, there have been at least 2,512 people killed nationwide by individuals with concealed carry permits since 2007. Only 24 of those deaths occurred in Washington, but almost 67% of the total were suicides.
Holy raised issues with the “constant attempt at encroachment on the Second Amendment and at the state level,” citing protections in the Washington State Constitution. Sen. Javier Valdez, D-Seattle, followed, voicing support for the amendment despite not adding it to his original version or that of last year’s SB 5444.
Valdez proposed SB 5098 and SB 5444 to expand the list of places where entering with a weapon is a gross misdemeanor. If approved, SB 5098 would prohibit the open-carry of a weapon at public buildings, parks, fairgrounds and playgrounds where children frequent.
State law already prohibits possession of a weapon in parts of airports, jails, law enforcement and public health facilities, courtrooms and other related areas, bars and places off-limits to individuals under 21 years old, public libraries, accredited zoos, aquariums and transit facilities.
The legislation would require local municipalities to post signs at each place where open-carry is illegal. According to a fiscal note, the law could cost upwards of $6.87 million and apply to 3,327 city parks, 1,405 city buildings, 345 county parks, 195 county buildings and 39 fairgrounds.
“Is it another unfunded state mandate,” Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, told the committee. “And that’s sort of anecdotal, but I mean, there’s a couple of things that bother me about this.”
Fortunato said SB 5098 does what the state tried to prevent by largely preempting municipalities from adopting local gun control measures. The preemption blocks a legislative “patchwork quilt,” allowing residents to move freely without complicating the law.
He and Sen. Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro-Woolley, both noted a lot of mass shootings occur in gun-free zones, like schools. Fortunato said the areas essentially create a “shooting gallery.”
“If you look around the country, the areas that have the most restrictive gun ownership laws have the most violence,” Wagoner said. “This bill also creates more soft targets, where bad people who don’t follow the rules know there’s nobody there to fight back.”
The Senate Law & Justice Committee gave Substitute SB 5098, which includes the CPL exemption, a do-pass recommendation and sent it to the Senate Rules Committee.
The committee has not yet determined whether SB 5098 will reach the Senate floor for debate.
