Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
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State Gun Laws
Find out where your state ranks in strong gun laws and learn about those laws.

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Brady State Scorecard Washington
2011 Scorecard

15 out of 100 points

Washington has weak gun laws that help feed the illegal gun market, allow the sale of guns without background checks and allow the sale of military-style assault weapons, according to the Brady Campaign. 

In the organization’s 2011 state scorecards released for all 50 states, Washington earned just 15 points out of a total of 100. 

Curb Firearm Trafficking (Maximum 35 Points)

Gun Dealer Regulations (Maximum 12 Points)

  • Category Possible
    Points
    Points
  • State license required 2 2
  • Record keeping and retention 2 2
  • Report records to the state, and state retains records 2 2
  • Mandatory theft reporting of all firearms 2 0
  • At least 1 store security precaution required 2 0
  • Inspections by police allowed 2 0
  • Total 12 6

Limit Bulk Purchases (Maximum 5 Points)

  • Category Possible
    Points
    Points
  • One handgun per month, no exceptions 5 OR One handgun per month, 1 or more exception 3 0

    •  

Record Retention (Maximum 5 Points)

  • Category Possible
    Points
    Points
  • All Firearms 5 OR Handguns Only 4 0

    •  

Crime Gun Identification (Maximum 10 Points)

  • Category Possible
    Points
    Points
  • Ballistic Fingerprinting 5 0
  • Require microstamping on semi-auto handguns 5 0
  • Total 10 0

Report Lost/Stolen Guns (Maximum 3 Points)

  • Category Possible
    Points
    Points
  • Mandatory reporting by firearm owners 3 0

    •  

Strengthen Brady Background Checks (Maximum 40 Points)

Background checks on all gun sales (Maximum 17 Points)

  • Category Possible
    Points
    Points
  • All Firearms (includes gun shows) 17 OR Handguns Only (includes gun shows) 10 0

    •  

  • Closed Gun Show Loophole 7 OR Background checks on long guns at gun shows 5 0

    •  

Permit to Purchase (Maximum 21 Points)

  • Category Possible
    Points
    Points
  • All firearms 3 0
  • Safety training/testing required 3 0
  • License to possess 3 0
  • Extend three-day limit for background checks 3 3
  • Permit required for ammunition purposes 3 0
  • Fingerprinting required 3 0
  • Permit process involves law enforcement 3 0
  • Total 21 3

Ammunition Regulations (Maximum 2 Points)

  • Category Possible
    Points
    Points
  • Ammunition Purchaser Records Kept/Vendor License Required 2 2

    •  

Ban Assault Weapons (Maximum 10 Points)

Assault Weapons Ban (Maximum 5 Points)

  • Category Possible
    Points
    Points
  • 1-feature test 5 OR 2-feature test 3 OR 2-feature test on assault pistols only 1 0

    •  

Large Capacity Magazine Ban (Maximum 5 Points)

  • Category Possible
    Points
    Points
  • More than 10 rounds 5 OR More than 15 rounds 3 0

    •  

Child Safety (Maximum 7 Points)

Child Safety Locks (Maximum 5 Points)

  • Category Possible
    Points
    Points
  • Integrated locks sold on all handguns (Childproof) 5 OR External locks sold with all handguns 3 0

    •  

  • Standards on all external locks 1 0

    •  

Child Access Prevention (Maximum 2 Points)

  • Category Possible
    Points
    Points
  • Ages 16/17 and under 2 OR Ages 14/15 and under 1 0

    •  

Guns in Public Places and Local Control (Maximum 8 Points)

No Guns in Workplace (Maximum 2 Points)

  • Category Possible
    Points
    Points
  • Employers not forced to allow firearms in parking lots 2 2

    •  

No Guns on College Campuses (Maximum 2 Points)

  • Category Possible
    Points
    Points
  • Colleges are not forced to allow firearms on campus 2 2

    •  

Not A CCW Shall Issue State (Maximum 2 Points)

  • Category Possible
    Points
    Points
  • Law enforcement discretion when issuing CCW permits 2 0

    •  

No State Preemption (Maximum 2 Points)

  • Category Possible
    Points
    Points
  • Local control of firearm regulation 2 OR Some local control of regulations 1 0

    •  

Extra Credit/Demerit

Extra Credit (2 Points)

  • Category Possible
    Points
    Points
  • Disarm Prohibited Handgun Possessors 2 0

    •  

Demerit

  • Category Possible
    Points
    Points
  • Gag Rule on Doctors (-2 Points) -2 0
  • No permit required for CCW (-2 Points) -2 0

    •  

Grand total for Washington: 15