WA States preemption on gun laws being eroded

[mudbug123]

As some of you may know, Kitsap County passed a new ordinance governing shooting ranges. The new ordinance includes noise controls which, if allowed to stand, could provide anti gun nuts with tools to shut down ranges state wide. (http://www.kitsapgov.com/dcd/community_plan/Gun_range_ordinance/documents/Final_ord_5152014.pdf)
Below is the response I got from the department of ecology when I asked how it was that a county could pass an ordinance stricter than state law::banghead:

"Ecology does not have a Noise Program, per se, that it administers under the 1974 Noise Control Act and instead relies on local government to enact noise provisions suitable for their particular jurisdictions. The Act and its implementing regulations - the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) - require local governments to send noise ordinances to Ecology containing different standards from those set out in the WACs. Ecology holds those submitted ordinances for 90 days, and then they are deemed approved in accordance with the Noise Control Act.
Ecology not does engage in "Firearms Regulation" as defined in RCW 9.41.290 - Firearms and Dangerous Weapons - nor contravene that statute, when it receives local noise ordinances. Additionally, Ecology holds no authority over local goverment actions under the Firearms law, thus, Ecology cannot "allow" local governments to contravene the Firearms statute.
In this specific situation, Kitsap County's "Ordinance Amending Kitsap County Code Concerning Shooting Ranges" contains no noise standards that differ from state standards, rather, its section 10.25.140 Application and construction of this Chapter states that, "a facility may not geneate noise at a level that creates a public nuisance." WAC Chapter 173-60-060 states that, "Nothing in this chapter or exemptions provided herein, shall be construed as preventing local goverrnment from regulating noise from any source as a nuisance. Local resolutions, ordinances, rules or regulations regulating noise on such a basis shall not be deemed inconsistent with this chapter by the department." Some local governments adopt specific noise regulations, others employ a "nuisance-based" approach, while others adopt noise standards and also consider some noises to be "nuisances" and regulate them as such. Kitsap County regulates noise on a shooting range when said noise is deemed a nuisance by an adjudicative body (e.g. a court, council, etc.)"

 

[suemarkp]

Counties can definitely have some leeway in the discharge of firearms. King County Title 12 is full of places where you cannot shoot. I think the bar is rather low to get an area approved for no shooting -- something like 10 people within the boundary sign a petition to get it put forth for approval. I doubt too many counties reject once they get that far. I can't remember how you undo one, if its the 10 people threshold or more. These places tend to surround bodies of water.

When I first moved here, they had to post the perimeter of the area (so they were easy to see). That has since been repealed and more and more of these areas are being formed and I bet most people don't know about them. I moved 10 blocks and my house is now just outside the perimeter of one of these areas.

I looked in the Kent city code regarding firearms discharge. I see nothing regarding shooting except the noise statues. They don't mention firearms specifically, but shooting would definitely be over the threshold and is not one of the exclusions (such as power tool noise during construction, or lawn equipment). One or two shots I'm probably OK. But a half hour of shooting is probably going to get me a visit.

I read in the WAC newsletter that they (actually one government person who has been there a long long time) have been trying for years to shutdown that one outdoor range in Kitsap county. I figured there would be more than one over there, but I guess they only have one in the whole county. If it goes, I guess its off to the national forest.