Members of Seattle-based anti-gun violence advocacy group Grandmothers Against Gun Violence (GAGV), Moms Demand Action/Washington, and Students Demand Action/Washington took to the steps of the Washington state capitol last week to rally and demand lawmakers pass gun safety bills.
One of those bills is House Bill 1152, which would strengthen the state’s secure storage laws by laying out exactly what is required to safely store firearms in homes and vehicles.
The advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety sent out an alert on Tuesday, March 11, asking parents to send messages to their state lawmakers in support of HB 1152:
“Washington lawmakers have an opportunity to pass a secure storage law — critical legislation that would save kids’ lives and reduce gun theft in our state. But if they don’t vote on it by Wednesday, the bill will fail,” the group messaged supporters. “That’s why lawmakers need to hear from you that putting secure gun storage on their agenda is a must.”
To contact your lawmaker, go to the Everytown website action page.
According to the bill’s summary, if HB 1152 becomes law, it would be illegal for anyone to store or leave a pistol, rifle, or shotgun in a vehicle unless:
- it is stored, unloaded in a qualifying container that is opaque, locked, and affixed within the vehicle
- the container is concealed from view from outside the vehicle, and
- the vehicle is locked
- a glovebox is not a safe storage box
The bill outlines which types of firearms must be stored in which types of safety containers, although several groups would be exempt from the restrictions. The bill also stipulates the rules for safe storage at home. According to the summary, “securely stored” means a firearm is either:
- locked or disabled using a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety device engaged correctly to render the firearm inoperable by any person other than the owner or other lawfully authorized user and also kept out of plain sight;
- stored within a locked gun safe or similar locked container secure from access by unauthorized users.
Sandra Ramirez, whose 13-year-old son died last year while hanging out in the home of a friend whose parents had a gun, is one mother fighting for the bill.
“This tragedy could have been prevented if the firearm was properly locked up,” Ramirez said in her testimony in support of HB1152. “I don’t just see the shooter as responsible for this happening. I see the gun owners, the adults, as who should be held accountable.”
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