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Moving to WA from VA.

PackinXD40

Regular Member
Joined
May 30, 2010
Messages
24
Location
Hampton , Virginia, USA
So come march the family and I will be moving to the Whidbey Island area (due to military PCS). What should i honestly be expecting as far as how it is out there. I know WA doesn't accept VA concealed permit so that will be something i need to get updated there. Just looking for some insight from some people that actually live out there.
 

Lante

Regular Member
Joined
May 27, 2009
Messages
122
Location
Kingston, Washington, USA
Washington is quite good on open carry. There are still a few police officers who don't care what the law is, but all departments have been pretty well educated. Washington has its share of anti-gun citizens but also a vibrant open carry movement so we are in pretty good shape. Negative incidents have become fairly uncommon other than a few misinformed people spouting off. Where you are going is not one of the major metropolitan areas so while I don't have any direct open carry experience on the island it should be pretty easy.

I am sure being a OCDO veteran you will check the WA forum for general WA info and laws. Be aware that WA laws on car carry are a bit weird - (without a CCW/CPL has to be unloaded) so be sure to check that out. There are no restaurant carry restrictions, but you are restricted from carrying in a bar (over 21 area). Private property no gun signs don't carry any weight other than the usual issues with private property rights, being asked to leave, and trespass issues if you don't, that seem to start L-O-N-G threads when ever it is brought up.

Getting a WA permit is easy.

We look forward to having you in WA!
 
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golddigger14s

Activist Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2010
Messages
2,068
Location
Lawton, OK USA
Welcome to WA, and thank you for your service. (me 21 years in Army). WA is for the most part OC friendly, get your CPL so you don't have to unload and re-load when you get in and out of the car. Read the threads here, and learn.
 

xxx.jakk.xxx

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
Messages
467
Welcome to the State. I'm sure you'll love it. Pretty much has the best of everything. Ocean, Rivers, Lakes, Mountains, Deserts, etc.

Thus far, I haven't had any problems with anyone, except for one or two people who told me that concealed means concealed while I was OC. People are pretty friendly once you get past the freeze. People up here in the major city areas generally don't have the hospitality of other areas and some people take it offensively. Just assume everyone you meet is in a hurry to get somewhere and you should be fine. Lol

As for carry

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9.41.050
RCW 9.41.050
Pretty much covers concealing and the need for a permit. Cannot conceal unless in your place of business or abode without a CPL (of course there are some ways around this) and you cannot carry loaded in a vehicle without a CPL

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9.41.060
RCW 9.41.050
Covers exceptions to restrictions on carrying. (8) is probably my favorite exception since it says "lawful outdoor recreational activity". In my opinion just riding my motorcycle for fun would cover that but I doubt they'd see it that way. Lol

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9.41.270
RWC 9.41.270
Covers carrying in the open, though covers more than just pistols. Remember, to meet RAS it has to meet all 4 criteria, "manner, under circumstances, and at a time and place". Also has exceptions to this such as being at your work or home.

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9.41.300
RCW 9.41.300
This covers areas you cannot carry. Make sure to get familiar with these to avoid trouble.

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=77.15.460
RCW 77.15.460
Covers Shotguns and Long Guns in vehicles. Just make sure they aren't loaded and you'll be fine. Loaded magazines are fine as long as they are not attached to the firearm.

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9.41.290
RCW 9.41.290
State Preemption. One of the best things they've done. This is a good read so you should definitely read through this one a few times.


Also, there are special rules for carrying for persons 18-21. Not sure if those relate to you so I didn't bother posting links but there is a great guide on the forums somewhere relating to that subject. No fully automatic, SBR, SBS. You can have Suppressors (finally).


I'm sure you won't have any problems here and the people are actually very nice. Just make sure to research. =]
 

PackinXD40

Regular Member
Joined
May 30, 2010
Messages
24
Location
Hampton , Virginia, USA
Thanks for the info on the law. Ill take a look around and study up on the laws. I will look into getting my WA conceal carry as soon as i get there. I think we will actually be moving to Anacortes. This will be a big trip for us (wife and dogs). Seeing we are coming from VA and all. It will be my second duty station. How is the weather around that area for motorcycle riding and just plain living conditions?
 
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Grim_Night

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2012
Messages
776
Location
Pierce County, Washington
I can tell right off the bat you are in the navy... my father moved the whole family from Virginia Beach/Norfolk when I was just out of 3rd grade and I've been here ever since (34 now). If you're going to Whidbey Island, I'm gonna guess that you're stationed on an aircraft carrier and part of the flight crew.

As for things to worry bout firearms wise... the cost is $52.50 for the applications, Washington is a Shall Give state, can take up to 30 days for residents and 60 days for non-residents. Since you are in the military, you will most likely be able to get the resident one as long as you provide your military ID and orders stating your duty station.
 

xxx.jakk.xxx

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
Messages
467
Thanks for the info on the law. Ill take a look around and study up on the laws. I will look into getting my WA conceal carry as soon as i get there. I think we will actually be moving to Anacortes. This will be a big trip for us (wife and dogs). Seeing we are coming from VA and all. It will be my second duty station. How is the weather around that area for motorcycle riding and just plain living conditions?


Weather isn't that bad. We do get rain for a lot of the year. Pretty much 3 months of summer. It is pretty wet and cold the last 3 through the first 6 or so months of the year. Depending on the area, we tend to avoid snow for the most part. As long as you have some wet weather gear you should be fine. I just got my bike in June so I've only been on it for the Dry weather but when I first learned it was from around December to May and I didn't have any problems. Water Proof, warm and Full Helmet should make it a breeze. =]

For the CPL, all it takes is just under $55 and a finger print to get it. You'll get it within 30 days if you pass the background check (which being military I'm assuming you probably will). We're a Shall Issue state so as long as you pass, you will get it.
 
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PackinXD40

Regular Member
Joined
May 30, 2010
Messages
24
Location
Hampton , Virginia, USA
I can tell right off the bat you are in the navy... my father moved the whole family from Virginia Beach/Norfolk when I was just out of 3rd grade and I've been here ever since (34 now). If you're going to Whidbey Island, I'm gonna guess that you're stationed on an aircraft carrier and part of the flight crew.


i have to say, you're pretty damn good at guessing lol.
 
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EMNofSeattle

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2012
Messages
3,670
Location
S. Kitsap, Washington state
Welcome to the Evergreen State! You'll fall in love with the area, alot of people who get deployed here through the military opt to remain here after they're discharged/retired. As far an non-gun related stuff, if you want to know some of the things there are to do in this area you can PM me with some question and i'll be more then happy to answer any questions about living here.

Gun rights are pretty good here, probably comparable to Virginia, maybe slightly more restrictive. If you look at the stickies for the WA forum you'll find a version of the gun rights pamphlet. but here's the lo-down

Concealed Carry is legal with a permit, permits are like 60 bucks. to obtain one you go to the County Sheriff's Office or if you live inside the limits of a city you have the option of going to that city's police department. The run a background check and you submit fingerprints. WA is "shall issue" for both residents and non-residents. you need a concealed pistol license to carry a handgun loaded in a vehicle. rifles and shotguns cannot be loaded in a vehicle even if you have a CPL

Open carry is generally legal, however it is a crime in a manner that would tend to "warrant alarm" for the safety of others. (RCW 9.41.270). however simply carrying a loaded pistol in a holster doesn't meet this criteria.

you can't carry a firearm into a bar or lounge off limits to under-21s period. open or concealed, license or no license
you also can't carry into the secure areas of a court house where court proceedings are conducted, however the court security must secure your firearm and hold it until you're done. you can't carry into a school building or building leased by a school, you can however carry legally onto school grounds if you're only picking up or dropping off a student. one cannot carry into the secure areas of a police station, however lobbies and and hallways open to the public are ok. also you cannot carry at an outdoor music festivals. otherwise most public areas are ok to carry.
There are no magazine limits or AWBs, no handgun registry, however sales of handguns are subject to a three day wait period, which can be waived if you possess a CPL.

There is no requirement to inform an LEO if you are carrying if stopped. also if transporting pistols in a car without a CPL or for transit, they must be locked within the car, unloaded and concealed from view.

Those are the basics, again look at the stickies for the detailed explanation with RCW cites, also most firearm related laws are in RCW Title 9 chapter 41 (9.41)
 

PackinXD40

Regular Member
Joined
May 30, 2010
Messages
24
Location
Hampton , Virginia, USA
thanks a lot guys. There is a lot of good information I'm gonna have to read up on. It doesn't seem to differ that much from the "gold star" state of VA. A few differences ill have to keep an eye out for, but for the most part, my collection of guns will be able to stay with me lol. And EMNofSeattle ill keep you in mind if i have any spur the moment questions come up.
 
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Grim_Night

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2012
Messages
776
Location
Pierce County, Washington
i have to say, you're pretty damn good at guessing lol.

Honestly, it was an educated guess... Norfolk is a major duty station on the east coast for US navy carriers. So is Bremerton Washington. But the aircrew for the carriers head to Whidbey Island. If you had said Bangor, that's a sub base, and Bremerton has the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS). We also have a smallish(?) naval base in Everett which can handle carriers. But chances are, your ship is heading to Bremerton for refit, repairs and maintainance at the ship yards. And once done, it will most likely move to Everett.
 

Grim_Night

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2012
Messages
776
Location
Pierce County, Washington
Also if transporting pistols in a car without a CPL or for transit, they must be locked within the car, unloaded and concealed from view.

One slight correction here... as the laws are written, since you are able to carry openly in washington in vehicles as long as the weapon is not loaded, it is not required to lock the weapon and have it consealed. It simply must be unloaded. As I take the local bus system for my transportation needs, to transport a handgun, I can easily just store it in a backpack unloaded and it would be perfectly fine.
 

PackinXD40

Regular Member
Joined
May 30, 2010
Messages
24
Location
Hampton , Virginia, USA
Close, but the carrier (the bush) is actually staying here, i will be transferring to NAS Whidbey Island come march. I guess im semi excited to get out there, never been on the west coast, new chapter in life i guess. By the way the wife and I are both 25 so hopefully it will be a good adventure.


Tapatalkin' it
 

decklin

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2011
Messages
758
Location
Pacific, WA
When you go to apply for your CPL just bring a copy of your orders assigning you to WA. You have a double residency since you are military. One is your Home of Record and the other is your assignment.
The weather for motorcyles is great. I'm from New England and I can tell you that WA doesn't get that much rain. It mists through the winter and then it's overcast. You have 3-4 months of sun with about 8 months of good riding weather. In the past year I didn't ride for about two months and that was because of the rain. I don't like riding in rain.
The weather here is super mild. It really is a pretty nice place to live.
 

xxx.jakk.xxx

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
Messages
467
Close, but the carrier (the bush) is actually staying here, i will be transferring to NAS Whidbey Island come march. I guess im semi excited to get out there, never been on the west coast, new chapter in life i guess. By the way the wife and I are both 25 so hopefully it will be a good adventure.


Tapatalkin' it

If you're an outdoorsey lot, there is a lot to do. Mountains, Lakes, Rivers, Waterfalls, Ocean, Rain Forests. There are tons of special interest groups out here. We pretty much have an oasis over here. We actually missed the weird weather over here. No 100+ degree heat waves. Very small storms that didn't last long like the east coast storms. I personally love to go out hiking on the beach and at the waterfalls. I haven't gotten brave enough to go on the Enchanted Valley hike, though. It's 13 miles each way and I just can't commit to that kind of distance since it'd probably have to include some over night camping and I can't take a lot of time off of work.
http://www.olympicpeninsulawaterfalltrail.com/enchanted-valley
 

PackinXD40

Regular Member
Joined
May 30, 2010
Messages
24
Location
Hampton , Virginia, USA
yea i wouldn't say I'm a super outdoorsy time person, but i don't mind it. I like to hike and fish and thats about it. As for riding, as long as its not raining a lot I'm on the bike lol.
 

hermannr

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2011
Messages
2,327
Location
Okanogan Highland
ENM:
There is no requirement to inform an LEO if you are carrying if stopped. also if transporting pistols in a car without a CPL or for transit, they must be locked within the car, unloaded and concealed from view.

Wrong: If you do not have a CPL you can carry on your hip, as long as it is not loaded, OR you meet an exception in RCW 9.41.060 in which case you can carry loaded, openly or concealed.

If you leave a firearm in a vehicle, if you have CPL, or not, the firearm must be concealed from view and the Vehicle must be locked.

For the OP: Welcome...if you have a motorcycle you will want to visit the dry side of the state (where I live) We do have snow in the winter, but very little rain. Okanogan and Chelan Co's are very OC friendly.

If you plan on living in Anacordes, Skagit county has very little OC problems. The present Skagit Co. Sheriff is an elitist democrat but he is also a realist. The Skagit Co Sheriff's department won't hassle you. The CoP of Anacordes is a bit more resonable, but neither will hassel you. I OC'd in Skagit Co from 1970 to 2005 (when we retired over here) Never had a problem.

Actually, with the exception of "unloaded in a vehicle", unlicensed OC is probably better here than in VA. You can OC in all parks and forests, state, county and national. You can OC into the Capital building in Olympia, the town council meetings...pretty much anywhere the public can go that could be anything reasonable. Restricted areas of a jail, restricted areas Mental Health facility, and courts are a no go, but they must have metal detectors and supply a lock box at any restricted area. "bars" (posted by the liquor control board as "over 21 only" are off limits, but retaraunts that serve, but do not have the liquor control board "over 21 only" posting are fine.

There was a Navy LTC (from Whidbey) that posted here for quite awhile, I don't know if he was reassigned or not, but he OC's all the time.
 

EMNofSeattle

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2012
Messages
3,670
Location
S. Kitsap, Washington state
ENM:

Wrong: If you do not have a CPL you can carry on your hip, as long as it is not loaded, OR you meet an exception in RCW 9.41.060 in which case you can carry loaded, openly or concealed.

If you leave a firearm in a vehicle, if you have CPL, or not, the firearm must be concealed from view and the Vehicle must be locked.

There was a Navy LTC (from Whidbey) that posted here for quite awhile, I don't know if he was reassigned or not, but he OC's all the time.

I specifically was talking transport, not unloaded OC.

And NavyLCDR is still posting here to the best of my knowledge. I've seen him around as recently as last week, and He's been very active on TheHighRoad and usacarry. still lists his location as "Stanwood" on his page.
 

badger54

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2008
Messages
129
Location
Seattle, Washington, USA
Anacortes is a nice place but I would recommend taking a look at Oak Harbor. It's an amazing town I just wish I could find a job up there so I could move back. I am biased though as its my home town.:) Feel free to PM me if you want more in depth info.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2
 
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Grim_Night

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2012
Messages
776
Location
Pierce County, Washington
I specifically was talking transport, not unloaded OC. .

RCW 9.41.050 (2)(a) A person shall not carry or place a loaded pistol in any vehicle unless the person has a license to carry a concealed pistol and: (i) The pistol is on the licensee's person, (ii) the licensee is within the vehicle at all times that the pistol is there, or (iii) the licensee is away from the vehicle and the pistol is locked within the vehicle and concealed from view from outside the vehicle.

Loaded is the key word here. You can do whatever you want with an unloaded pistol.

RCW 9.41.060 section (9) Any person while carrying a pistol unloaded and in a closed opaque case or secure wrapper

Here's some more to back up my claim RCW 77.15.460: Loaded firearm in vehicle

Key here is: (5) For purposes of this section, a firearm shall not be considered loaded if the detachable clip or magazine is not inserted in or attached to the firearm.

The key points (and it would have to take a pretty dumb-gum LEO or DA to claim otherwise) are unloaded and closed opaque case or secure wrapper. If you have them in an open-top cardboard box, that is no longer "closed" and opaque. If you have them in a pistol rug, inside of a duffle bag, or in a holster in a closed box, or tackle box, ammo can, etc., and unloaded you would have to have done a whole lot of other things to p!$$ off the LEO before they'd go after you for something like attempting to conceal. Keep the mags and ammo in a separate, closed, bag/box/range kit, and you'd have a hard time finding an LEO (or DA) that would state you were breaking the law.
 
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