Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and City Councilmember Lorena Gonzalez say they’ll soon propose city legislation to require gun owners to lock up or safely secure guns in homes or vehicles.
Gonzalez and Durkan acknowledged they are trying to finalize language before bringing the legislation before the council.
“We're still working jointly with our able city attorney that we have the most defensible piece of legislation,” said Gonzalez.
It is clear that city leaders and gun rights backers are gearing up for a legal challenge.
“I don't think the city of Seattle can do this under the state pre-emption law,” said Dave Workman of the 2nd Amendment Foundation and writer for thegunmag.com. He cites Washington state law and says he’s surprised that the city would float such legislation.
“We don't suggest people leave loaded guns around. That’s insane. That's nonsense. But at some point maybe the civil libertarians are going to get involved and say, 'You can't tell people what they can do in the privacy of their own homes,'” Workman said.
Workman took on the city over a refusal to release revenue from the newly implemented gun tax. The city approved the tax on guns and ammunition in 2015, claiming it would raise upwards of $500,000 a year. It hasn’t, according to Workman, with a little under $100,000 raised in 2017.
“The gun tax is a monumental disaster,” he said.
That money has gone to support research and gun intervention programs.
Durkan did not apologize for the lower revenue numbers.
“If one of the impacts is that there are fewer guns and fewer bullets sold in Seattle, that may not be a bad thing,” Durkan said.
There were 88 shootings in Seattle last year, killing 18 people, according to the Seattle Police Department.
Cities including San Francisco and Los Angeles have laws that require gun storage.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
