Few state changes expected after court gun ruling

SEATTLE — State and local lawmakers say the echo of Thursday's U.S. Supreme Court gun ruling should be relatively quiet in Washington state, which places few gun restrictions on its residents.

"It won't effect our state law — it will only protect it," said state Sen. Pam Roach, R-Auburn, a gun-rights advocate. "It sends a message that we have a right to keep and bear arms."

Washington is a "shall issue" state, considered by many to be among the most lenient gun laws in the U.S. Almost all non-felons have a right to carry with a license, as long as they are over the age of 21 and meet a list of state requirements.

But in Seattle, Mayor Greg Nickels recently signed an executive order announcing plans to tighten gun restrictions on city property after two bystanders were injured at a May festival at Seattle Center.

He said he has no plans to turn back in light of the Supreme Court's ruling that Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting.

"We're going to continue to go down this path," Nickels said.

The court's 5-4 ruling struck down the District of Columbia's 32-year-old ban on handguns as incompatible with gun rights under the Second Amendment but leaves most firearms laws, like those in Washington, intact.

Kristen Comer, executive director of gun-control group Washington CeaseFire, said the decision will likely be unnoticeable in Washington state.

"I don't think any of our gun laws are in danger," she said. "I don't think any of the laws we advocated for will be endangered either."

In recent years, several measures to restrict guns in Washington state have failed, including one designed to prevent the unregulated sale of handguns at gun shows. A perennial issue, attempts to close the so-called "gun show loophole" has never gained traction.

During this year's Legislature, another measure that would ban weapons at colleges that host high school students did not pass. A countermeasure, aimed at prohibiting universities from banning concealed weapons, also failed.

Given historical resistance toward tighter regulation on the state level, Nickels said he expects resistance, but will continue to push for more gun control in Seattle.

He thinks the court's decision strengthens his argument, pointing toward a section of the ruling that cautions against second guessing laws that ban firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings.