Dear friends and neighbors,

The 2024 legislative session officially adjourned for the year last week. During the 60-day session, legislators introduced 1,615 bills, and we expect that Governor Inslee will sign about 380 into law over the next few weeks. We made important progress this year on a wide range of issues, including new investments in housing, transportation, special education, behavioral health, and climate action.

Over the next several weeks, I’ll be sending newsletters focused on key issue areas that the legislature addressed this year. This first newsletter will focus on legislation passed to reduce gun violence.

New gun violence prevention laws

Reducing gun violence has been one of my top priorities in the Legislature since the Sandy Hook shooting more than a decade ago. Voters have approved three major ballot measures since 2014: extending background checks to private sales; authorizing extreme risk protection orders to keep guns away from those who are at risk of hurting themselves or others; and imposing safe storage requirements on all firearms as well as age restrictions, waiting periods, and safety training requirements on semi-automatic rifles.

Since Democrats regained control of our state Senate in 2018, the Legislature has prohibited the sale of assault weapons; required a 10-day waiting period and comprehensive safety training for purchases of all firearms; banned bump stocks; added domestic violence harassment to the list of conditions that prevent people from buying a firearm; adopted a first-in-the-nation measure to let people struggling with mental illness place themselves on a firearms do-not-purchase list; prohibited open carry of firearms at public demonstrations; banned large capacity magazines; restricted ghost guns; and restricted weapons at public meetings.

I also have good news to report on SB 5078, a bill I sponsored and passed last year to require gun manufacturers and dealers to impose reasonable controls to prevent their products from getting into the hands of dangerous individuals. That bill was challenged in court, and just last week a federal judge rejected the challenge.

Significant gun safety bills that passed the Legislature this year include:

  • HB 1903, requiring gun owners to report stolen guns to law enforcement within 24 hours or face a potential fine of up to $1,000. We will join 15 other states in adopting a law that has been shown to reduce both illegal firearm access and the number of illegal firearms recovered at crime scenes.
  • HB 2118, requiring gun dealers in Washington to ensure their inventory is kept safe and secure, to keep standardized records, to make timely reports of loss and theft, to preserve video recordings of transactions, and to carry liability insurance.
  • SB 5444, banning open carry of firearms in public libraries, zoos and aquariums, and transit stations.
  • HB 2021, authorizing the Washington State Patrol to destroy firearms they have seized, so dangerous weapons are not recirculated back into the communities. It also requires law enforcement to destroy firearms acquired through a buyback program.

I’m proud of the continuing work our state is doing to reduce gun violence. I am already looking toward next year’s legislative session as we work together to make our state a safer place to live.

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions at Jamie.Pedersen@leg.wa.gov.

Best wishes,

Jamie