Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has signed his first piece of restrictive gun control legislation since taking office, and it’s a measure described as “extremist” by critics who are already vowing to challenge it in court.
The bill is Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1163, which will take effect two years from now, in May 2027, and it spans 39 pages. While he was attorney general, Democrat Ferguson lobbied for a ban on so-called “assault weapons” and “large-capacity magazines,” and he has been an ally of the gun prohibition lobby.
The bill mandates that would-be gun buyers provide proof they have taken an approved firearms safety course, to include a live-fire segment, in order to get a permit-to-purchase from the Washington State Patrol. The same requirement will apply to those seeking to obtain, or renew, their concealed pistol license. There are presently more than 700,000 active CPLs in the state.
The billionaire-backed, Seattle-based Alliance for Gun Responsibility was already cheering on social media, but their announcement is being met with blistering responses from Evergreen State gun right activists.
Wrote Taylor Gerchak: “Wow. Taking away a woman’s right to protect herself and her children. Big win for violent criminals who will get their hands on firearms irregardless (sic).”
Jane Milhans, a veteran activist, responded on the Alliance Facebook page: “There are over 100 pages of Washington State ‘common sense’ gun control laws. None of these laws will prevent criminals from committing evil or obtaining firearms by illegal means.”
One Seattle resident, identified as Taide Y Ana Farias, responded on the Alliance page, “This is an outright attack on our Constitution, and it’s incredibly dangerous what these Democrats are trying to do! It’s simply not right to strip away people’s rights or to manipulate them in any way. Our right to bear arms is a God-given right that should never be tampered with. Everyone should have the freedom to bear arms without needing a permit—it’s just fine the way it is!
“I say it’s time to rise up and initiate a massive protest! Let’s take this fight to the Supreme Court. This is not just a legal battle; it’s a fight for our fundamental rights! We cannot stand idly by while they chip away at our freedoms. We must be bold and defend what is rightfully ours!”
But Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, may have put the best perspective on Ferguson’s action.
“In recent years,” he stated, “every time Washington state has passed a gun control law, violent crime went up. There is no reason to expect this pattern will change.”
Gottlieb, who is also founder and executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation—which specializes in gun rights litigation—told TGM, “Our legal team is already working on potential challenges.”
Legal action may not occur right away, since the law is not scheduled to take effect until May 1, 2027, nearly two years from now. But that doesn’t mean Evergreen State Second Amendment activists will sit back and relax.
Between now and then comes the 2026 mid-term elections, when the entire Washington State House of Representatives is up for grabs. Activists have plenty of time to plan an anti-Democrat election turnout.
Gottlieb was pragmatic about the situation, observing, “The real effect of delaying the law until 2027 means there will be more gun sales, and more applications for concealed pistol licenses before the new requirements become effective. People watching violent crime increase will buy more guns and get carry licenses.”
As noted by King 5 News, the NBC affiliate based in Seattle, “House Bill 1163 requires that a person apply for a permit to purchase firearms through the Washington State Patrol (WSP) Firearms Background Check program. The application must include a complete set of fingerprints taken by the local law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction where they reside, a certificate of completion of a certified firearms safety training program within the last five years, and certain identifying information.”
It may take the state two years to create the “approved” safety training program, and provide range facilities to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of Washington residents who will demand these things be in place when the law takes effect. Otherwise, the state could find itself in a legal morass.
