News

2A Victory: Court Bats Down City’s ‘Gun Storage’ Law

Feb. 28, 2021

SEATTLE — A three-judge panel of the Washington State Court of Appeals ruled that a “safe storage” requirement for gun owners imposed by the city of Edmonds cannot stand, because such rules are controlled by the state.

The ruling built upon previous court decisions that declared the safe storage provisions of the Edmonds’ ordinance invalid by also striking down the unauthorized use provisions, thereby effectively negating the entire ordinance.

The court found that the plaintiffs have standing to bring suit against both the storage and unauthorized use provisions of the Edmonds ordinance, and further finding that Washington state law trumped the city’s ordiance.

In a unanimous decision, acting Chief Judge Beth Andrus wrote, “We…conclude that the legislature’s express preemption of ‘the entire field of firearms regulation’ is unambiguous and necessarily extends to regulations of the storage of firearms.”

While at this time there is no firm word from the City of Edmonds about further appeals, Edmonds’ anti-gun mayor Mike Nelson emailed the following statement to My Edmonds News:

“There is no dispute that safe storage of firearms saves lives….We have an outstanding team of lawyers assisting us on our next steps and options. This much is clear, we are not going to stop protecting our children from gun violence until the violence stops,” Nelson wrote.

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