An appeals court in Washington state has decided that the state, not its cities, sets gun laws for residents.
The ruling returns a case over a special gun-storage requirement imposed by the city of Seattle back to a trial court.
Second Amendment Foundation Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb called the decision by the Washington State Court of Appeals "a great victory for the Second Amendment Foundation and our case against Seattle."
"Now we will have a trial on the merits of the case, which I believe we will win eventually," he said. "A lot of our cases in Washington state have been stalled and have taken a long time to actually get resolved, and it’s because they really don’t want to rule in our favor but they know eventually they’re going to have to."
The unanimous appeals court ruling was based on the state's preemption of all local gun restrictions.
The city adopted its storage requirement more than two years ago and was sued by SAF, NRA and two private citizens. The lawsuit was dismissed by a King County Superior Court judge who said the plaintiffs lacked standing. But on appeal, a three-judge panel led by Acting Chief Judge Beth Andrus ruled for the plaintiffs and sent the case back to King County Superior Court "for further proceedings consistent with this opinion."
It's the second victory for Second Amendment supporters in the state. SAF and NRA recently won a similar case against the city of Edmonds.
"Rogue city governments, especially ones that let rioters seize neighborhoods and destroy public and private property, cannot be allowed to skate around state firearms laws," said Gottlieb. "Seattle is not a special fiefdom inside Washington state, where officials can make up their own rules, especially when they directly affect the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens.
"We're challenging the city’s cavalier behavior because they are not above the law. We adopted state preemption decades ago because it brought uniformity to Washington’s gun laws. Thanks to the appeals court, we can now move forward, and I’m convinced we’re going to prevail."
The city had demanded the right to fine violators of its gun-storage requirements up to $10,000.
SAF explained that "under Washington law, the state legislature has exclusive authority for all firearms regulation, including but not limited to 'registration, licensing, possession, purchase, sale, acquisition, transfer, discharge, and transportation of firearms, or any other element relating to firearms or parts thereof, including ammunition and reloader components.'"
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