Several of these demonstrators in Olympia, Wash., on Jan. 15 went inside the Capitol and entered the House public gallery, raising their rifles for a photo op. The result has been a ban on open carry of all firearms in the House and Senate chambers, and at legislative committee hearings. – Dave Workman photo
By Dave Workman
Senior Editor
Washington State House and Senate officials have imposed a ban on open carry during all public hearings in legislative office buildings, the Associated Press and Seattle Times reported.
Open carry has always been legal in the Evergreen State, and for several years, citizens have carried sidearms on their visits to the Capitol building and other state offices. The prohibition has infuriated some open carry activists.
It is continuing fallout from a display of rifles carried by 12-15 people who entered the House viewer’s gallery on Jan. 15 at the end of a Second Amendment rights rally on the Capitol steps. Some sympathizers have contended the open carry incident was in response to requests from rally organizers to leave long guns at home.
The long guns issue stems from a larger protest on Dec. 13 against Initiative 594, the 18-page gun control measure passed by voters in November. Many if not most of the estimated 1,500 protesters had rifles or shotguns, along with visible sidearms.
However, I-594 was not about open carry, but ostensibly about so-called “universal background checks,” which translates to universal handgun registration, critics contend.
Banning open carry in legislative hearings was considered legislative overkill in reaction to the Jan. 15 gallery exhibition. Some critics of that incident have suggested the State Patrol could have arrested those involved for violating an existing state statute. That law covers displays of firearms in ways that warrant alarm in other persons. Court rulings have noted that it is not illegal to carry firearms openly, even though it may shock someone else.
What occurred in the House chamber gallery was something of a photo-op display, with protesters raising rifles above their heads. Legislative leaders said that equated to raising signs in the gallery, which has been prohibited for a long time.
There has never been a similar incident during any House or Senate committee hearing with long guns being raised toward the ceilings. Hearings last year on I-594 attracted some open carry activists, but they joined the rest of the audience and sat quietly throughout proceedings in both the House and Senate buildings.
At least some gun owners have apparently already sent messages to their local legislators, expressing disappointment and alarm over this new open carry ban.
Meanwhile, some Washington activists are equally alarmed about new legislation that would allow judges to “temporarily” disarm people who – according to family members or police – might pose a danger of violent behavior. The legislation is sponsored by Rep. Laurie Jinkins (D-Tacoma), who attended December’s launch of the American State Legislators for Gun Violence Prevention, a new nationwide gun control group for state lawmakers.
The bill appears to be patterned after similar legislation passed last year in California in response to the Santa Barbara killing spree by Elliot Rodger. He fatally shot three people and killed three others with a knife. In the aftermath, news accounts revealed there had been numerous warning signs known to the family.
Jinkins, quoted by KIRO, said the legislation strikes “a really good kind of common-sense, balanced approach to look at folks where there is an extreme risk and make sure we provide as much protection as we can.”
