Bringing your guns to Washington?

Following my previous blog post about transporting guns through Canada to Alaska, I though I would continue the trend and discuss transporting guns within our very own United States and the issues associated with each state. As I end up having to research each state’s laws before traveling into or through, I will go ahead and share my findings. If this is not your thing, that is OK. I will have a blog post up about my travels is very short order.

Let me first get this out of the way; I am a conceal carry weapons permit holder (Colorado permit). I own multiple firearms, have passed through no less than 8 Federal and State background checks in the past couple years, been fingerprinted and photographed (though I have committed no crime), and have taken my fair share of educational and safety classes to acquire my permit and to safely handle my arms. With that said…

Washington State is generally very welcoming to people with firearms, with one major caveat; as long as you are a resident of Washington State. Washington State honors permits from other states, but that list is extremely short. I happen to be in one of the 40 states in which they do not recognize my permit. Significantly more than 80% of the country is not permitted to conceal carry within the State of Washington.

However, Washington’s State constitution does permit open carry of handguns (and rifles) without the need of any permit (open carry is permitted in more than 60% of the country with no permit at all). It also does not allow more restrictive local laws. This means each county or city may not create their own, more-restrictive laws than the State’s. which means I can travel through the state without worry of inadvertently committing crimes as a cross through invisible county/city lines. Still, there is another caveat;

Open carry is lawful in Washington without any permit. Open carry of a loaded handgun in a vehicle is legal only with a concealed pistol license.- RCW 09.41.050

Though it is legal for me to carry my gun (openly) in public it is illegal to carry it in a car (openly or concealed) if it is loaded, since I do not have a Washington conceal carry permit. Take a moment to ponder the consequences of this…

[insert Jeopardy music here]

I must un-holster my loaded gun, remove the magazine containing the bullets, rack the slide to remove the bullet in the chamber, then re-holster my gun, all before entering my vehicle (and reversed when exiting the vehicle). This is text-book definition of “brandishing” by their very own laws;

It shall be unlawful for any person to carry, exhibit, display, or draw any firearm, dagger, sword, knife or other cutting or stabbing instrument, club, or any other weapon… –RCW 9.41.270

I asked this with the local Sheriff in 2013 and to my surprise he verified that YES, I must actually break the brandishing law to stay within the laws of openly carrying a gun in the great state of Washington.

Long guns are not allowed to be loaded in a vehicle at any time (permit or not), but can be carried openly without a permit, even loaded.

Hey, if you don’t like these laws, you can do something about it. Vote in your state elections. Vote in the presidential elections. And most importantly, vote with your wallet by supporting gun-rights organizations like the National Rifle Association the Gun Owners of America and the Second Amendment Foundation (just to name a few).

UPDATE – After publishing this post I was informed that Washington State does recognize the Utah non-resident CCW permit which can be applied for here once you have a permit in your home state.

UPDATE 2 – Since writing this post I have returned to Washington state and have stayed long enough to justify going through the process of a non-resident conceal carry permit. Contacting the local law enforcement agency, fill out a simple form, get fingerprinted, and pay $55 and they will have one issued within 60 days (passing background and mental health check is required). It was a fairly simple and easy process which I recommend to anyone staying in the state any length of time.