BELLEVUE, WA – -(Ammoland.com)-The Second Amendment Foundation and National Rifle Association today filed a lawsuit against the City of Seattle and Mayor Jenny Durkan over adoption of a so-called “safe storage” requirement, alleging that it violates Washington State’s 35-year-old preemption statute, and is therefore unenforceable.
Also named as defendants are the Seattle Police Department and Chief Carmen Best.
State law prohibits cities, towns and counties or other municipalities from adopting gun regulations that exceed state authority. The state legislature has sole authority to adopt gun laws including, but not limited to, registration, licensing, possession, purchase, sale, acquisition, transfer, discharge and transportation of firearms.
“The City of Seattle has been trying to erode state preemption almost from the moment it was passed back in 1985,” recalled SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “When the city tried to ban guns from city parks facilities under former mayors Greg Nickels and Mike McGinn, SAF and NRA joined forces with other organizations to stop it, under the state preemption statute. We should not have to repeatedly remind Seattle that they are still part of Washington State and must obey the law.”
Joining SAF and NRA in the lawsuit are two Seattle residents, Omar Abdul Alim and Michael Thyng. They are both firearm owners.
“Seattle seems to think it should be treated differently than any other local government when it comes to firearm regulation,” Gottlieb observed. “State preemption was adopted more than three decades ago to assure uniformity of gun laws from Ilwaco to the Idaho border. Seattle simply can’t break the law to adopt an ordinance as a political statement.
“We’re delighted to once again be working with the NRA to protect Washington state law and the rights of gun owners who live in the state’s largest city,” Gottlieb concluded.
About Second Amendment Foundation
The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.
You don’t see the WA AG stepping in to uphold state pre-emotion! He is in collusion with the Seattle gun grabbers!
The first ten amendments to the Constitution, The Bill of Rights, had to be added before the Constitution could be officially ratified as the federal law of the land. They guarantee those ten, inalienable, natural rights. They are the permanent natural rights of all citizens and there is no basis for any of them to be legally amended or denied, the way that many of the other amendments may be altered, if approved by enough states. The abolition of slavery and the right to vote are two other natural rights that should be enshrined with the first ten to make… Read more »
The problem with most state’s preemption laws are that they have no teeth! Strengthen preemption laws so that local governments who violate them face massive fines (ie $1,000,000 a day) or even jail time for everyone who votes for passage of such a law and the nonsense will stop!
Once we elect them they think we have granted them total control over us and they can run our lives better than we can.
Ignorance abounds in the halls of government.
@Tcat, Well, the day after the election, the “elected” don’t need us anymore, and they know it. We must search for the “not corrupted yet” candidates. Parties play a large part in their corruption, and have since the very beginning of this nation.
It is time for new, stronger controls on our employees so they do not have control over us.
@ Wild Bill if the founders had not had the foresight to write the Constitution and Bill of Rights we would be nothing but a undeveloped terrorist run country that could belong to Mexico. Thank God for the founders and I believe God brought Trump to power to get this country back to its founding of being a God fearing Republic based on Christian values. There comes a point in every person’s life when they have to be judged for their actions and lies won’t be heard. Trump is not perfect but he is a mortal like all of us.… Read more »
@Tcat, Spot on!
The 2008 HELLER case was about Washington, DC storage law. It was found to be unconstitutional. In 2010 McDonald applied it to the states.
So the City of Seattle isn’t just violating the state constitution and laws, they are treading on very thin ice.
Sounds like an easy case.
lib demacrats all nuts
Exactly……and they live in a fantasy world.