Washington Democrats File Permit-to-Purchase Bill; Training, Live Fire Required

More than 20 Washington State Democrats have pre-filed legislation that would create a permit-to-purchase for anyone hoping to buy any firearm, with a training requirement that includes a live-fire demonstration of competency.

Democrats tried to push the purchase permit mandate earlier this year, but it was pulled.

House Bill 1902 stretches 72 pages. Its sponsors are all liberal Democrats. Not a single Republican added their name. The bill also creates a “state firearms background check system account” to be “the custody” of the state treasurer.

Democrats are not even trying to be subtle about their gun control intentions, say grassroots Second Amendment activists.

If passed, this legislation will almost certainly be challenged in court as a violation of the Second Amendment and the state constitutional right-to-bear-arms provision (Article 1, Section 24).

Earlier this year, when the purchase permit was first proposed, the Daily Olympian reported Democrat Rep. Liz Berry of Seattle explained her bill thusly: “We require training and a license to drive a car or go fishing, it’s just common sense to require a license for purchasing a firearm… Permit to purchase helps to make sure that guns are only purchased by responsible individuals by requiring an identity verification, completed background check and safety training.”

Critics said Berry and other proponents overlook the fact that driving and fishing are privileges, while keeping and bearing arms are constitutionally-protected rights. There is a vast difference between rights and privileges, which Evergreen State Democrats appear unable to discern.

They are also ignoring the fact that criminals do not purchase their firearms through legal channels, so they don’t worry about background checks, permits-to-purchase, training requirements or any other restrictions Democrats are putting on law-abiding citizens.

Sponsors of HB1902 are Representatives Emily Alvarado, Liz Berry, Lisa Callan, Lauren Davis, Beth Doglio, Davina Duerr, Darya Farivar, Joe Fitzgibbon, Roger Goodman, David Hackney, Sharlett Mena, Greg Nance, Strom Peterson, Gerry Pollet, Julia Reed, Kristine Reeves, Cindy Ryu, Tana Senn, Tarra Simmons, Monica Jurado Stonier, Chipalo Street, Jamila Taylor, Hy-Linh Thai, and Amy Walen.

One gun shop—Sporting Systems in Vancouver, owned by gun rights advocate Dan Mitchell, who has been a plaintiff in at least two legal challenges to Washington gun laws—has been offering a free, online “gun safety course” to meet the current requirement for completing a safety course to buy a gun, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2024. The course takes less than an hour, and it covers lots of ground including the use of deadly force, conflict avoidance, suicide prevention and the basics of firearm safety.

In late September at the Gun Rights Policy Conference, Mitchell was elected to the Second Amendment Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

If the bill passes, the Washington State Patrol will be responsible for establishing “a program to provide certifications for firearms safety training programs that meet the requirements of RCW 9.41.1132, and to require certified firearms safety programs to apply for recertification every five years.”

By no coincidence, many of the same Democrat lawmakers are backing HB 1903, a three-page bill requiring gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms within 24 hours from the time the theft or loss is discovered. Failure to report carries a maximum fine of $1,000.

Two more Democrats have jumped aboard this bill. They are Reps. Shelley Kloba and Mary Fosse.

Both of these bills mirror legislation in other Democrat-controlled states, including neighboring Oregon, where a circuit judge ruled several weeks ago that their law—Measure 114—was unconstitutional. The state quickly moved to appeal, but in the meantime, Beaver State gun owners remain in legal limbo and Kevin Sterrett, head of the Oregon Firearms Federation, told Ammoland News some weeks ago he expects the legislature to convene in Salem and craft legislation to somehow get around the court ruling. Oregon’s legislative session begins in February. Washington’s legislature convenes in January.

But are the training and permit-to-purchase requirements included in HB 1902 constitutional? Here is the language of the Washington state constitution, adopted Nov. 11, 1889, when Washington achieved statehood:

“The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this Section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men.”

When Arizona achieved statehood in 1912, their constitution copied this provision word-for-word.

Until 2014, Washington was recognized as a state with reasonable gun laws. But with the legislature drifting farther to the left, and the adoption of two gun control initiatives after campaigns bankrolled by a billionaire-backed gun prohibition lobbying group based in Seattle, many gun owners have literally moved out of the state.

Remarkably, Washington still has the highest number of resident concealed pistol licenses of any state in the west (excluding Texas), more than 696,000 as of Dec. 1, according to the state Department of Licensing. While Utah may have more active licenses, the majority of those appear to be held by non-residents, according to data included in the 2023 report on concealed carry released two weeks ago by the Crime Prevention Research Center.

About Dave Workman

Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.