A new record has been set for the number of active concealed pistol licenses in Washington state, in the wake of an unfriendly legislative session which saw passage of new gun control legislation, and at a time when violent crime appears to be declining.
The state Department of Licensing tells Liberty Park Press that April closed out with 705,691 active CPLs, a jump of more than 4,700 additional licenses over the past 30 days. March ended with 700,943 active CPLs.
April saw the passage of House Bill 1163 which, if it is signed by Democrat Gov. Bob Ferguson, will require persons applying for or renewing their licenses to provide proof of having taken a firearms safety course, including a live-fire segment, within the past five years. But that would not take effect until early in 2027, meaning that licenses issued before that date will still fall under the current regulations.
A Washington CPL is effective for five years.
Interestingly, while the number of active licenses has gone up, the number of shootings has gone down in the state’s most populous county. According to KIRO News, the Seattle-based CBS affiliate, gun-related violence in King County has dropped dramatically. During the first quarter of 2024, according to data from the Prosecutor’s Office, there were 441 shootings. During the first three months of this year, there have been 278 shooting incidents.
Yet, in King County, March ended with 112,176 active licenses and the April total came up to 112,602. Essentially, as the number of legally armed citizens climbed, the number of criminal shooting incidents declined.
More importantly, according to the KIRO report, from January through March 2024, King County logged 25 homicides, while during the same period this year, 15 murders were investigated. According to the X site Seattle Homicide, the Jet City has investigated 9 slayings.
Tacoma, in neighboring Pierce County, has logged 10 murders so far this year. In Pierce County, according to the new CPL data, there has actually been a slight decline in the number of active licenses, from 95,861 in March to 95,690 posted on April 30.
Washington is one of 12 states suggested by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms as ripe for investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice’s new “Second Amendment Task Force,” created last month by Attorney General Pam Bondi. CCRKBA has launched an online petition to Bondi, which implores her to launch those investigations to determine whether state laws in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington have impaired or infringed on Second Amendment rights.
CCRKBA Asks Bondi to ‘Unleash’ 2A Task Force
CCRKBA’s national headquarters is in Bellevue, Wash.
The states listed by the gun rights group have been dubbed “The Dirty Dozen” and Republican lawmakers in Colorado have also sent a letter to Bondi, asking that she focus the Task Force on the Centennial State, where anti-gun Democrat Gov. Jared Polis recently signed a bill banning so-called “assault weapons.”
As Liberty Park Press reported earlier this week, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon has announced the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division will, indeed, focus on Second Amendment protection. In an interview with commentator Glenn Beck, Dhillon explained, “Prior Republican administrations haven’t paid a lot of attention to affirmatively (protecting the Second Amendment), but in the wake of clear guidance from the United States Supreme Court, to own and use firearms…city after city or state after state are eviscerating those rights.”
Dhillon is a gun owner, and she expressed disdain for the fact that it may take months for her to even be allowed to apply for a carry permit in Washington, D.C. where she now works.
