This bill amends RCW 9.41.300 to add and clarify locations and circumstances where knowingly possessing or having control of a weapon is unlawful, to restrict open carry at “permitted demonstrations,” to impose procedural duties on local authorities, and to set criminal penalties and exemptions. It creates new location-based prohibitions covering specified restricted-access areas of jails and law enforcement facilities, areas used in connection with court proceedings, restricted areas of certain public mental health inpatient facilities and state institutions for the mentally ill, portions of establishments off-limits to persons under 21 as classified by the state liquor and cannabis board, restricted access areas of commercial service airports per TSA plans (including passenger screening checkpoints), premises of libraries under chapter 27.12 RCW, accredited or certified zoos/aquariums or certain participant facilities, transit stations and transit facilities as defined in RCW 9.91.025, municipal parks designated where children are likely present, certain state or local public buildings (with exclusions), and county fairs during public hours (with a gun-show exemption). The bill also prohibits knowingly open carrying a firearm or other weapon at any permitted demonstration (including in vehicles) with an additional rule making it unlawful to open carry within 250 feet of the perimeter of a permitted demonstration after a law enforcement officer advises the person and directs them to leave, subject to a private property exception. Municipalities must designate and sign park facilities where children are likely present, and local judicial authorities must mark weapon-prohibited areas and post notices at entrances to buildings used in connection with court proceedings. Local legislative authorities are required to provide either a stationary locked box (large enough for pistols) with a key or to designate an official located in the same building to receive weapons for safekeeping during a visitor’s court-related visit, and the local legislative authority is made liable for negligence causing damage to or loss of a weapon stored this way. The bill authorizes municipalities to adopt ordinances restricting firearm discharge in certain circumstances, restricting possession in municipally operated stadiums or convention centers with specified exceptions, and regulating locations where firearms may be sold subject to zoning parity and grandfathering rules (including a possible 500-foot buffer from school grounds under certain conditions). Violations of the specified subsections are made a gross misdemeanor. The text defines “weapon” to include firearms, explosives as defined in RCW 70.74.010, certain impact instruments and metal knuckles, and knives or similar instruments capable of causing death or injury, and lists a range of exemptions covering law enforcement, security and correctional personnel, museum and zoo staff in limited circumstances, color/honor guards, and licensed pistol holders who follow written-permission or storage procedures. The provided materials are incomplete in places: the chunked text cuts off in the middle of subsection (7)(a) so some exemptions and any further amendments are missing, and the full preceding subsections and any additional sections that may have been amended are not included here, so a complete account of all changes and any remaining exceptions or definitions cannot be confirmed from these extracts.

If enacted, the bill would expand many places where people may not knowingly possess or control weapons and would limit open carry at permitted demonstrations, while creating a new requirement that local governments provide secure, on-site weapon storage or a designated official at buildings used in connection with court proceedings. Practically, visitors to courts would likely have to store firearms in a provided locked box or leave them with a court designee, people attending permitted demonstrations would generally be prohibited from open carrying and could be ordered to leave an area within 250 feet of a demonstration until unarmed, and governments and property operators would need to post signage at affected premises to warn the public. Violations are criminalized as gross misdemeanors, and many routine exemptions (law enforcement, military, certain museum/zoo staff, licensed pistol carriers with written permission, etc.) are preserved. The groups most affected are local legislative and judicial authorities, which will incur costs and new responsibilities to buy and maintain locked boxes or assign staff to accept weapons, post signs, designate child-focused parks, and face potential liability if stored weapons are lost or damaged; municipalities may also choose to adopt local restrictions on firearm discharge and locations of firearm-selling businesses, with some businesses potentially constrained by new zoning buffers (though existing businesses are grandfathered). Individuals who attend demonstrations or enter newly restricted locations will have fewer options to openly carry and may need to plan for storage or not bring weapons; law enforcement, military, certain institutional staff, and others listed as exemptions retain carrying options. The text provided cuts off mid-section and omits the full list of exemptions and a comprehensive statutory definition of “weapon,” so some implementation details and the scope of exceptions remain unclear.