yhtomit
Member
Hi!
I'm a few months from finishing law school (cross fingers) in Pennsylvania, and right now my top choice for life thereafter is Washington State. I've lived there before for a few years, have friends in Seattle and nearby, and miss each day the beauty and atmosphere of the place. If I get some "perfect" job in one of a handful of other states which has some draw (Texas, Tennessee, and a few others), it might not happen -- but boy do I miss it out there.
For you Washingtonians, I'd really appreciate a few words on the realities of various gun-related legalities in Washington; I owned a handgun while I was there, but shot mostly at a range rather north of Seattle, and did not delve deeply into the laws of the state.
Below is a bit of a ramble (but even partial answers will be helpful), because among other things, I'd like to know about ...
- Concealed permits: I understand that it's a shall-issue state (this I knew when I was living there, too -- long history of it, even!), but are there any special hang-ups I should know about? In some states, sherrif's offices are the issuing authority, and vary in their actual speed and enthusiasm. (Packing.org is the canonical source, but it seems to be down at the moment.) I would guess that King County is the worst, because I bet that's the most anti-gun area; on the other hand, when I lived in Seattle, I noticed distinctly less hoplophobia than I see all the time in Philadelphia, and I mean to cast no aspersions.
What peculiarities should I know about? Are there references required as there are in PA? (Glad I already know quite a few people in the state!) How long is the residency requirement, if there is one? Will my PA permit (not reciprocally recognized) be of any help in obtaining a WA one?
- Good (free, uncrowded) legal places to shoot: I know there's a lot of national forest etc. in Washington; are there good places there for hassle-free shooting, as there are in some places? The Eastern part of the state has some desert (at least, I think it's defined as desert despite having no saguaros ); are there places one can drive into uninhabited state land, set up targets, and have at?
- The oddball laws re: suppressors. As I have heard it explained, "you can own one, but you can't put it on a gun." That's a better law than "You can't own one," since one may have acquired one legally elsewhere, etc, and ought not need to throw it away. Since I'd love to have a suppressed .22, this leads me to my next question
- WA state gun organizations / lobbying orgs: are there any that you consider worth joining, endorsing, or contributing to? I'd love to write some letters at least to work toward getting suppressors legal.
- Rules re: buying guns: I have bought guns in several states, but not while I was living in Washington. Do face-to-face purchases require background checks? How expensive are fees associated with buying guns, and do they vary for handguns v. long-guns? (In PA, there's a $5 fee to the state for a mandatory background check; irksome, but not very expensive.)
- What questions do I not realize I should be asking? Esp. when it comes to the first set of questions above, re: CCW, remember that what seems normal to current holders in a particular state may be pretty foreign to anyone else, so explaining peculiarities as to when / where one may not legally carry, or when / where one must inform someone else (traffic stop in WA -- disclosure required?) are very useful.
- For any lawyers or others with reason to know: Any reason that you can think of to discourage me from seeking attorney jobs in Washington? (And "competition" is not a valid reason -- you have nothing to fear from me anytime soon )
Lest this veer off-topic, I intend to compose a separate post that is more general in nature about aspects of Washington life related to guns but not specifically about legal matters (sadly, with guns I know those are sometimes hard to peel apart!), so I'd really appreciate it if replies here could be about strictly legal aspects (permits, purchase requirements, etc.)]
Thanks for any responses! (And I'llnow post a similar, differently cast note in the general discussion area re: other aspects of life there.) (EDIT: recursive crosslink: http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=4202504#post4202504)
Cheers,
timothy
EDIT:
I've found some good information about concealed permits from the State Lege -- http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9.41.070 -- and for King County (not that I'll necessarily live there, but as above, I suspect it's the worst place to get one, and even there, at a glance it appears straightforward and friendly): http://www.metrokc.gov/sheriff/services/gun_permits/. $55 and change isn't awful, at least not compared to the objectionable requirement itself for a permit in order to exercise a basic right. And Cornered Cat also has a page full of just such information as I'm looking for: http://www.corneredcat.com/Legal/resources.aspx
Answers not found in those places are especially valuable in your responses!
I'm a few months from finishing law school (cross fingers) in Pennsylvania, and right now my top choice for life thereafter is Washington State. I've lived there before for a few years, have friends in Seattle and nearby, and miss each day the beauty and atmosphere of the place. If I get some "perfect" job in one of a handful of other states which has some draw (Texas, Tennessee, and a few others), it might not happen -- but boy do I miss it out there.
For you Washingtonians, I'd really appreciate a few words on the realities of various gun-related legalities in Washington; I owned a handgun while I was there, but shot mostly at a range rather north of Seattle, and did not delve deeply into the laws of the state.
Below is a bit of a ramble (but even partial answers will be helpful), because among other things, I'd like to know about ...
- Concealed permits: I understand that it's a shall-issue state (this I knew when I was living there, too -- long history of it, even!), but are there any special hang-ups I should know about? In some states, sherrif's offices are the issuing authority, and vary in their actual speed and enthusiasm. (Packing.org is the canonical source, but it seems to be down at the moment.) I would guess that King County is the worst, because I bet that's the most anti-gun area; on the other hand, when I lived in Seattle, I noticed distinctly less hoplophobia than I see all the time in Philadelphia, and I mean to cast no aspersions.
What peculiarities should I know about? Are there references required as there are in PA? (Glad I already know quite a few people in the state!) How long is the residency requirement, if there is one? Will my PA permit (not reciprocally recognized) be of any help in obtaining a WA one?
- Good (free, uncrowded) legal places to shoot: I know there's a lot of national forest etc. in Washington; are there good places there for hassle-free shooting, as there are in some places? The Eastern part of the state has some desert (at least, I think it's defined as desert despite having no saguaros ); are there places one can drive into uninhabited state land, set up targets, and have at?
- The oddball laws re: suppressors. As I have heard it explained, "you can own one, but you can't put it on a gun." That's a better law than "You can't own one," since one may have acquired one legally elsewhere, etc, and ought not need to throw it away. Since I'd love to have a suppressed .22, this leads me to my next question
- WA state gun organizations / lobbying orgs: are there any that you consider worth joining, endorsing, or contributing to? I'd love to write some letters at least to work toward getting suppressors legal.
- Rules re: buying guns: I have bought guns in several states, but not while I was living in Washington. Do face-to-face purchases require background checks? How expensive are fees associated with buying guns, and do they vary for handguns v. long-guns? (In PA, there's a $5 fee to the state for a mandatory background check; irksome, but not very expensive.)
- What questions do I not realize I should be asking? Esp. when it comes to the first set of questions above, re: CCW, remember that what seems normal to current holders in a particular state may be pretty foreign to anyone else, so explaining peculiarities as to when / where one may not legally carry, or when / where one must inform someone else (traffic stop in WA -- disclosure required?) are very useful.
- For any lawyers or others with reason to know: Any reason that you can think of to discourage me from seeking attorney jobs in Washington? (And "competition" is not a valid reason -- you have nothing to fear from me anytime soon )
Lest this veer off-topic, I intend to compose a separate post that is more general in nature about aspects of Washington life related to guns but not specifically about legal matters (sadly, with guns I know those are sometimes hard to peel apart!), so I'd really appreciate it if replies here could be about strictly legal aspects (permits, purchase requirements, etc.)]
Thanks for any responses! (And I'llnow post a similar, differently cast note in the general discussion area re: other aspects of life there.) (EDIT: recursive crosslink: http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=4202504#post4202504)
Cheers,
timothy
EDIT:
I've found some good information about concealed permits from the State Lege -- http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9.41.070 -- and for King County (not that I'll necessarily live there, but as above, I suspect it's the worst place to get one, and even there, at a glance it appears straightforward and friendly): http://www.metrokc.gov/sheriff/services/gun_permits/. $55 and change isn't awful, at least not compared to the objectionable requirement itself for a permit in order to exercise a basic right. And Cornered Cat also has a page full of just such information as I'm looking for: http://www.corneredcat.com/Legal/resources.aspx
Answers not found in those places are especially valuable in your responses!
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