House Bill 1872 (H-1160.1) of the 69th Legislature (2025) reenacts and amends RCW 9.41.010 and amends RCW 9.41.092, 9.41.370, and 9.41.390, and creates a new section. The bill includes a statement of legislative intent citing the Washington Constitution and findings about expanding exemptions for certain instructors, shooting sports participants, officers, military, veterans, and concealed pistol license holders. The bill substantially revises and republishes many statutory definitions related to firearms, including detailed definitions of “assault weapon,” “large capacity magazine,” “untraceable firearm,” “frame or receiver,” “loaded,” “semiautomatic,” and related technical terms. The bill establishes substantive prohibitions and procedural requirements. It prohibits manufacture, import, distribution, sale, or offer for sale in Washington of assault weapons and large capacity magazines, subject to specific exemptions (sales by licensed manufacturers or dealers to the armed forces, the state, law enforcement agencies, authorized individuals, or sales to nonresidents). Violations of the assault weapon prohibition are a gross misdemeanor; violations of the large capacity magazine prohibition are a gross misdemeanor punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW. The bill also preserves limited transition and inheritance provisions: dealer stock of certain assault weapons acquired before January 1, 2023 may be sold out of state for a 90‑day period after April 25, 2023, and a person who receives an assault weapon by operation of law on or after April 25, 2023 may possess it only if provenance is established and may not sell or transfer it in Washington except to a licensed dealer, a federally licensed gunsmith for service or repair, or a law enforcement agency for permanent relinquishment. The bill imposes a procedural change on licensed dealers: a dealer may not deliver a firearm until required background check results are known, the purchaser is not prohibited from possession, and ten business days have elapsed from the date the background check was requested, with an explicit statutory exception for “authorized individuals” (as defined elsewhere in the amended definitions). Several definitions and provisions are incomplete or cut off in the available text and the full text of the amendments to RCW 9.41.092, 9.41.390, and 9.41.370 and the new section are not present in the extracted material.

If enacted, the bill tightens definitions of weapons and parts, bans the in-state manufacture, import, distribution, sale, or offer for sale of listed "assault weapons" and of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, and makes violations gross misdemeanors. Licensed dealers also could not deliver a firearm until required background checks clear and ten business days have passed after the request, unless the buyer is an “authorized individual” (a set of law enforcement, military, certified instructors, concealed pistol license holders and similar groups). The law preserves limited exemptions: sales to the armed forces, state or law enforcement agencies, authorized individuals, nonresidents, a short out‑of‑state sale window for certain pre‑2023 dealer stock, and narrow inheritance and repair/transfer paths for assault weapons received on or after April 25, 2023. Directly affected are licensed firearms dealers and manufacturers, who will lose the ability to sell assault weapons and large capacity magazines to most in‑state buyers, face longer hold times before delivery, and face criminal penalty risk if they fail to comply—likely increasing their compliance costs and reducing some sales options. Authorized individuals, law enforcement agencies, certain veterans and instructors will retain exemptions and more immediate transfer options. Important implementation details and some definitions are missing or cut off in the provided text, so the exact scope of exemptions and some procedural rules remain unclear.