—
Public parks, government buildings and other locations where children are “likely to be present” may soon be off-limits to some lawful carry in the state of Washington after the Democrat-controlled Senate in Olympia approved a new gun control measure on Wednesday.
SB5098waspreviouslyamendedtoexemptthosewithvalidconcealedcarrylicensesfromthenewlistof“gun-freezones”,soitseffectswillbemorelimitedthanthebill’ssponsororiginallyintended,butgivenhiscommentsontheSenatefloorgunownersshouldexpectfutureeffortstoremovethatcarveoutsothelegislationwouldapplytoallformsofcarry.
Sen.JavierValdez,D-Seattle,thesponsorofthemeasure,saidthestatehas“madegreatprogressinkeepingpeoplesafe”fromgunviolence,andthathebelievedgun-freezonesimprovepublicsafety.It’scritical,hesaid,toexpandtheprohibitionstomorepublicspaces.
“Thisbillisaboutkeepingfamilies—inparticular,ofcourse,wherekidsaregathering—safe,”Valdezsaid.
Youdon’tkeeppeoplesafebypreventingthemfrombeingabletoprotectthemselvesortheirfamilies
