Washington State Preemption of Firearms Laws

Washington maintains one of the broadest firearms preemption statutes in the country, codified at RCW 9.41.290. The statute limits the ability of cities, counties, towns, and other municipalities to enact their own firearms regulations and establishes the state legislature as the controlling authority over nearly all aspects of firearms law. The result for a Concealed Pistol License (CPL) holder is that the rules for carrying are set at the state level and are the same statewide, except where the legislature has specifically authorized local action.

The Preemption Statute

RCW 9.41.290 (State preemption) provides:

The state of Washington hereby fully occupies and preempts the entire field of firearms regulation within the boundaries of the state, including the 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. Cities, towns, and counties or other municipalities may enact only those laws and ordinances relating to firearms that are specifically authorized by state law, as in RCW 9.41.300, and are consistent with this chapter. Such local ordinances shall have the same penalty as provided for by state law. Local laws and ordinances that are inconsistent with, more restrictive than, or exceed the requirements of state law shall not be enacted and are preempted and repealed, regardless of the nature of the code, charter, or home rule status of such city, town, county, or municipality.

Source: 1994 sp.s. c 7 s 428; 1985 c 428 s 1; 1983 c 232 s 12.

Constitutional Background

Washington's preemption framework operates against two state constitutional provisions:

• Article XI, Section 11 (home rule). Grants cities, counties, towns, and townships the power to "make and enforce within its limits all such local police, sanitary and other regulations as are not in conflict with general laws." This delegated police power yields where the state has enacted a general law that occupies the field.
• Article I, Section 24 (right to bear arms). Provides that "[t]he right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired." Washington courts have long held that this right is subject to reasonable regulation by the state under its police power.

RCW 9.41.290 uses its field-preemption language to override municipal home rule authority over firearms. Where the state has spoken, local police power over firearms ceases.

Scope of the Preemption

The preemption is both express and broad:

• Express field preemption. The statute uses the words "fully occupies and preempts the entire field," the strongest preemptive language available under Washington law.
• Broad subject matter. It covers "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." The word "including" signals that the list is illustrative, not exhaustive.
• Universal applicability. Preemption applies "regardless of the nature of the code, charter, or home rule status" of the municipality.
• Automatic repeal. Local laws that are "inconsistent with, more restrictive than, or exceed the requirements of state law" are not merely prohibited. They are "preempted and repealed."
• Equal penalties. Any authorized local ordinance must carry the same penalty as state law.

No Local Permit-to-Purchase Requirements

Under RCW 9.41.110, every city, town, and political subdivision is barred from creating its own purchase-permit scheme. The statute provides that, except as otherwise provided in chapter 9.41 RCW, every city, town, and political subdivision "is prohibited from requiring the purchaser to secure a permit to purchase or from requiring the dealer to secure an individual permit for each sale." A local government cannot layer its own purchase-permit on top of state law.

Limited Local Authority Allowed by RCW 9.41.300

Despite the broad preemption, RCW 9.41.300 authorizes a few specific areas of local firearms regulation. These are the exceptions, and they are read narrowly.

Discharge restrictions (RCW 9.41.300(3)(a))

Cities, towns, counties, and other municipalities may restrict the discharge of firearms in any portion of their jurisdiction "where there is a reasonable likelihood that humans, domestic animals, or property will be jeopardized." Such ordinances may not abridge the Article I, section 24 right to bear arms in defense of self or others. Most cities have ordinances of this kind, and they are valid because state law authorizes them.

Stadium and convention center restrictions (RCW 9.41.300(3)(b))

A city, town, county, or other municipality may restrict the possession of firearms in any stadium or convention center it operates, with two carve-outs. The restriction does not apply to:

• Any pistol in the possession of a person licensed under RCW 9.41.070 (a CPL holder) or exempt from the licensing requirement under RCW 9.41.060; or
• Any showing, demonstration, or lecture involving the exhibition of firearms.

In other words, a CPL holder's concealed pistol is protected even where a municipality otherwise restricts firearms in its stadium or convention center.

Firearms sales locations (RCW 9.41.300(4))

Cities, towns, and counties may restrict the areas in which firearms may be sold, but a firearms business may not be treated more restrictively than other businesses in the same zone, and any required cessation period may not be shorter than for other businesses (RCW 9.41.300(4)(a)). They may also restrict the location of a firearms business to not less than 500 feet from primary or secondary school grounds where the business has a storefront, regular business hours, and visible signage advertising firearms for sale, with grandfathering for existing businesses (RCW 9.41.300(4)(b)).

Disposition of forfeited firearms (RCW 9.41.098)

Local governments retain authority over the manner in which firearms forfeited to them are disposed of.

Violations of local ordinances adopted under RCW 9.41.300(3) must carry the same penalty as provided by state law (RCW 9.41.300(5)).

State-Level Prohibited Places (RCW 9.41.300(1))

Because preemption pushes the place-restriction decision up to the state, the controlling list of off-limits locations is in state law, not local ordinance. Under RCW 9.41.300(1), it is unlawful to knowingly possess or knowingly have under your control a weapon (including a firearm) in:

• (a) The restricted access areas of a jail or law enforcement facility, or any place used for confinement. Restricted access areas do not include common areas of egress or ingress open to the general public.
• (b) Areas of a building used in connection with court proceedings, including courtrooms, jury rooms, judge's chambers, and adjacent corridors. The restricted area must be the minimum necessary.
• (c) The restricted access areas of a public mental health facility licensed or certified by the department of health for inpatient hospital care, and state institutions for the care of the mentally ill (excluding evaluation and treatment only facilities).
• (d) That portion of an establishment classified by the state liquor and cannabis board as off-limits to persons under 21 (the bar area of a tavern).
• (e) The restricted access areas of a commercial service airport designated in the TSA-approved security plan, including passenger screening checkpoints. This does not include airport drives, general parking, walkways, or shops and terminal areas outside the screening checkpoints.
• (f) The premises of a library established or maintained under chapter 27.12 RCW.
• (g) The premises of a zoo or aquarium accredited or certified by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the Zoological Association of America, or a facility with a current species survival plan memorandum.
• (h) The premises of a transit station or transit facility as defined in RCW 9.91.025 (this does not include a transit vehicle).

The libraries, zoos and aquariums, and transit locations in (f), (g), and (h) were added by the legislature in 2024 (2024 c 285 s 1). Any person who violates RCW 9.41.300(1) is guilty of a gross misdemeanor (RCW 9.41.300(16)).

How these prohibitions apply to CPL holders

The exemptions are not uniform across the list, so read them carefully:

• A CPL holder licensed under RCW 9.41.070 is exempt from the library, zoo or aquarium, and transit prohibitions in (1)(f), (g), and (h) (RCW 9.41.300(14)). A valid CPL lets you carry concealed in those locations.
• A CPL holder is not automatically exempt from the jail, court, mental health, bar, or airport prohibitions in (1)(a) through (e). For the jail restriction in (1)(a), a CPL holder may proceed directly to the facility administrator on entry, obtain written permission, or check the firearm (RCW 9.41.300(9)). The mental health restriction in (1)(c) has a similar permission mechanism (RCW 9.41.300(10)).

Open carry at permitted demonstrations (RCW 9.41.300(2))

Separate from the place list, RCW 9.41.300(2) makes it unlawful to knowingly open carry a firearm or other weapon at a permitted demonstration, or within 250 feet of the perimeter of a permitted demonstration after a law enforcement officer has advised the person and directed them to leave. This does not apply on private property owned or leased by the person, and it does not apply to the lawful concealed carry of a firearm by a person who holds a valid CPL (RCW 9.41.300(2)(e)). A violation is a gross misdemeanor (RCW 9.41.300(16)).

Other State Place Restrictions

Several firearms place restrictions sit outside RCW 9.41.300 in their own statutes, and they too are state law rather than local ordinance:

• School facilities: RCW 9.41.280.
• Child care premises: RCW 9.41.282.
• Voting facilities: RCW 9.41.284.

Open Carry at Government Buildings (RCW 9.41.305)

RCW 9.41.305, first enacted in 2021 (2021 c 261 s 2) and amended in 2022 and 2023 (2022 c 106 s 2; 2023 c 470 s 3006), prohibits the open carry of a firearm or other weapon (as defined in RCW 9.41.300(1)(b)) at:

• The west state capitol campus grounds, any building on the state capitol grounds, any state legislative office, and any public state legislative hearing or meeting during the hearing or meeting; and
• City, town, county, or other municipality buildings used in connection with meetings of the governing body, and any location of a public meeting or hearing of that governing body during the meeting.

Key points for carriers:

• This section reaches open carry only. It does not apply to the lawful concealed carry of a firearm by a person who holds a valid CPL (RCW 9.41.305(5)).
• A first violation is a misdemeanor. Second and subsequent violations are a gross misdemeanor (RCW 9.41.305(4)).
• On-duty law enforcement and military personnel are exempt (RCW 9.41.305(3)).
• A municipality must post signs giving notice of the restriction at the municipal locations described in subsection (1)(b) (RCW 9.41.305(6)).

How Courts Have Read the Preemption Statute

Watson v. City of Seattle (2017) - taxation is not regulation

Seattle enacted an ordinance imposing a tax on each firearm and on rounds of ammunition sold within the city, dedicating the revenue to gun violence research and prevention. The Washington Supreme Court held that RCW 9.41.290 preempts the local regulation of firearms but does not preempt taxation, and that the ordinance was a valid revenue measure authorized by Seattle's taxing authority under RCW 35.22.280(32). The decision drew a careful line: a municipality may tax firearms sales even though it may not regulate firearms.

Cherry v. Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle (1991) - internal employment rules

The Washington Supreme Court held that RCW 9.41.290 does not preempt internal employment rules limiting on-duty possession of firearms by public employees. The preemption statute targets regulatory firearms laws and ordinances directed at the general public, not a government employer's workplace rules for its own employees.

Pacific Northwest Shooting Park Ass'n v. City of Sequim (2006) - proprietary capacity

The Washington Supreme Court held that a city acting in a proprietary capacity, as the owner leasing its convention center for a gun show, may impose conditions on firearms sales through a use permit. The conditions related to private use of the city's property and were not laws of general application to the public.

Chan v. City of Seattle (2011) - parks ban preempted

The Washington Court of Appeals struck down Seattle's ban on firearms in public parks as preempted by RCW 9.41.290. Seattle was acting as a general regulator of the public, not as an employer or proprietary property owner, and RCW 9.41.300 does not list parks among the places where local governments may restrict firearms.

City of Seattle v. Ballsmider (1993) - discharge ordinance upheld

The Court of Appeals upheld a Seattle ordinance prohibiting the discharge of firearms within city limits as authorized by the discharge exception now found in RCW 9.41.300(3)(a). The court's broad reading of the older "Notwithstanding RCW 9.41.290" language prompted the 1994 legislature to tighten the statute and narrow local authority.

Attorney General opinions

The Washington Attorney General has opined that RCW 9.41.290 preempts a city from enacting a general ban on possession of firearms on city property or in city-owned facilities, reasoning that the legislature carefully enumerated the specific places where possession is prohibited and did not authorize a general municipal ban (AGO 2008 No. 8).

Practical Takeaways for CPL Holders

1. State law controls statewide. A CPL holder's carry rights and restrictions are the same in Seattle, Spokane, and rural counties. Cities cannot invent their own prohibited-carry zones beyond what the legislature has authorized.
2. A valid CPL preserves concealed carry in many sensitive places. Concealed carry by a CPL holder is expressly protected from the open-carry bans at government meetings and at permitted demonstrations, and from the library, zoo, aquarium, and transit prohibitions in RCW 9.41.300(1)(f) through (h).
3. Some prohibitions still apply to CPL holders. Jails, courthouse court areas, mental health facilities, bar areas, and the secured side of airports remain off-limits, subject to the narrow permission and check procedures in the statute.
4. Local discharge ordinances are valid. Most cities prohibit discharging firearms in populated areas, and RCW 9.41.300(3)(a) authorizes them.
5. A city generally cannot ban guns on its property as to the public, but it may set rules for its own employees and may impose conditions when it leases its property for private use.
6. Firearms taxes are allowed. Under Watson, a municipality may tax firearms and ammunition sales without running afoul of preemption.

Resources

• Local law enforcement (your city police or county sheriff) issues the CPL and is a primary source for questions about Washington carry rules.
• Washington State Department of Licensing maintains the statewide records of issued firearms licenses.
• Washington State Attorney General publishes guidance on concealed weapons and firearms law.
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) provides information on federal firearms law.

Key Statutes