I'm taking on City Hall, wish me luck....

[Bobarino]

upon perusing the city ordinances i came across this:

''Puyallup Municipal Code:
9.20.050 Fireworks, firearms, and weapons.
It is unlawful to shoot, fire or explode any fireworks, firecrackers, torpedo or explosive of any kind, OR TO CARRY ANY FIREARMS, air gun, bows and arrows, B-B gun, or use any slingshot in any park unless a written permit has
been obtained from the park commissioners. (Ord. 2105 § 2, 1986; Ord. 1733 § 4, 1978).''


this kind of ticked me off becuase i am a licensed firearms owner and carrier and that means if i go a park in Puyallup, which i do often as there is a riverbank park about 200 yards from my house where i fish in the Puyallup River, i'd have to get special permission to carry there, which i do, since i carry virtually everywhere.

what i have going for me are two separate parts of Washington law. first, is section 24 of the state Constitution which reads:

''SECTION 24 RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS. The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men.''

and revised code of Washington which reads:

''RCW 9.41.290
State preemption.
The state of Washington hereby fully occupies and preempts the entire field of firearms regulation within the
boundaries of the state, including the registration, licensing, possession, purchase, sale, acquisition, transfer,
discharge, and transportation of firearms, or any other element relating to firearms or parts thereof, including
ammunition and reloader components. Cities, towns, and counties or other municipalities may enact only those
laws and ordinances relating to firearms that are specifically authorized by state law, as in RCW , and are
consistent with this chapter. Such local ordinances shall have the same penalty as provided for by state law.
Local laws and ordinances that are inconsistent with, more restrictive than, or exceed the requirements of state
law shall not be enacted and are preempted and repealed, regardless of the nature of the code, charter, or home
rule status of such city, town, county, or municipality.''

what that essentially means is that the state reserves the right to create all laws relating to firearms. cities and municipalities may make their own firearms laws as long as they are NOT ANY MORE RESTRICTIVE than the states laws. the state laws make no mention of carrying in city or state parks. thus the Puyallup municiapl code is in violation of the state's preemption laws regarding carrying a firearm. i've prepared a brief explanation of each section and how the code violates the RCW's and will present it to teh city council next month, and will simply ask that the words ''or to carry any firearms'' be stricken from the code.

i believe they really have no choice but to strike the above mentioned phrase as its in direct contradiction with the state laws, and is unenforcable. so i feel i have a good shot at getting it changed. carrying a firearm in the parks violates no other state or local laws or codes. i plan on being very polite and factually and getting all gussied up for the presentation. no torn NRA t-shirts or anything. what'ya think? any other suggestions to present to the council?

Bobby

 

[Gray Peterson]

That ordinance has been preempted at least in regards to firearms for a while.

Apparently, and this was just found out a few months ago, that Pierce County (That is, Tacoma plus the Mt. Rainer area) completely BANNED the possession of firearms back in 1984. It's a rather poorly written ordinance. Supposedly, there was a call to repeal the ordinance, and it should have been addressed at the March 9th county council meeting, but I can't find any further information on whether or not it was repealed at the meeting. I might just call Pierce County and ask.

 

[Bobarino]

i've been told that the same thing was repealed up north somewhere in Sammamish or Snohomish or something but i can't remember where. i'm still looking for it. i'd like to use it as precidence when i address the council. if you find the Pierce Co. info could you let meknow where i can find it also? the more prepared i am the better.

Bobby

 

[txgho1911]

One option you may include.

Include in your presentation. The ordinance may be questionable if braught before a court because of the preempted parts of the law. They may want to edit the city codes to maintain any validity of the remainder of the ordinance.
IANAL This idea may be worthless but I thought of it so there it is.

 

[Bobarino]

GhoBrian,

honestly, i'm not too concerned about the slingshots and bows and arrows. the only part i'm concerned with (this time) is the firearms. since they are protected by the U.S. Constitution, the state Constitution, and the RCW's specifically. for the others, you can get permission to (theoretically) to bring them to a park, but requesting permission from the parks commisioner to legally carry concealed is going too far. i've already sought the permission of the state (which i don't think i should have to) by getting the license, and see no need to do the same from a parks commisioner. its a small step in the grand scheme of things but every little bit helps. we have to pick our battles. i'm fairly sure i can win this one, so i'm going for it.

Bobby

 

[Quartus]

Go for it and good for you! Seems to me that presenting it as, "Do this before you get sued and have to do it anyway after spending money on the lawsuit." approach is a good idea. Be there to help them, right?

For the children, of course!

 

[Barbara]

I guess that wouldn't be the time to mention that you consider the Constitution your "written permission?"

 

[Bobarino]

Barbara,

thats a pretty good one, but they'd probably argue that the Constitution wasn't written by the Parks Commisioner. i'm trying my best to avoid sarcasm with the council. its tough becuase i'm kind of sarcastic and cynical. i have to put on my "working professional" hat for this one. if they get all defensive and it looks like i'll lose, i'll start in with the cynicism.

Bobby

 

[Barbara]

Believe me, I understand..it's just frustrating that something so obvious is ignored so widely.

Good luck to you!