• We are now running on a new, and hopefully much-improved, server. In addition we are also on new forum software. Any move entails a lot of technical details and I suspect we will encounter a few issues as the new server goes live. Please be patient with us. It will be worth it! :) Please help by posting all issues here.
  • The forum will be down for about an hour this weekend for maintenance. I apologize for the inconvenience.
  • If you are having trouble seeing the forum then you may need to clear your browser's DNS cache. Click here for instructions on how to do that
  • Please review the Forum Rules frequently as we are constantly trying to improve the forum for our members and visitors.

Pierce County Environmental Services Building

birdus

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2012
Messages
25
Location
Tacoma, WA
Can I carry a gun in the Pierce County Environmental Services Building? That's a building near the University Place golf course. Last night was the annual meeting of the Tacoma Rifle & Revolver Club. When I walked in the front door of the building—carrying open, of course—there were three guys (club members, etc.) checking people in to the meeting. They were definitely confused about a few things, but said that it was illegal for me to have a gun in that building. Not knowing for sure, I put it back in my car.

I'm skeptical that they were correct. Can anyone clarify this for me?

Thanks,
Jay
 

massivedesign

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2009
Messages
865
Location
Olympia, Washington, USA
Back the truck up... You were attending a meeting hosted by a gun range and they said no guns? pffft. If it's a county operated building (probably is) and not on the list of prohibited places (it's not on the list), then carry on!
 

golddigger14s

Activist Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2010
Messages
2,068
Location
Lawton, OK USA
Typical people making stuff up to fit their agenda, NOT illegal, full of hockey pucks. It is a city/county building, not a federal building.
 

birdus

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2012
Messages
25
Location
Tacoma, WA
Actually, the whole reason I was there was to read a complaint I had typed up about the club's "no open carry" policy. I never got the chance to read it.

That's a separate issue, though. My main concern (i.e., why I'm posting here) was that they said no guns in a county building. As I said, I was skeptical that they were correct, but they said that there was a cop (a club member) in the meeting and he would arrest me if he saw my gun. I knew that State Law was the boss and didn't think it prohibited guns in every county building (courts, I know), but all three of them were insistent that was the deal.

Thanks,
Jay
 
Last edited:

Alpine

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2012
Messages
671
Location
Idaho
They were either ignorant or they lied to you. next time print off the relevant RCWs and carry them with you.
 

birdus

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2012
Messages
25
Location
Tacoma, WA
I just sent this to the list of people who run the club (about 16 people):

I wanted to write you all to hopefully educate and to share some thoughts. I attended the meeting last night and had hoped to read a statement, but didn’t get the opportunity (In hindsight, I guess I should’ve read it at the beginning of the “Bylaws” discussion, but I didn’t know that, at the time.) At the end of this e-mail, I’ll include the text that I had hoped to read.

First, though, let me relay what happened when I first entered the building and met with the three folks at the front desk (I think Marty was one of them, but don’t know the names of the other two). I was carrying open—which I almost always do, when possible—and the big fella pointed at my gun and asked “is that loaded?” I replied that of course it was loaded. First of all, it’s completely irrelevant if my gun is loaded or not. Next, he said it’s illegal to have a gun in a federal building. I know that, but last night’s meeting was not in a federal building, which I pointed out. Then the three of them all started saying things about guns not being allowed in city buildings and county buildings. One of them pointed out that there’s a cop in the meeting (a club member, I guess) and that he’d arrest me if he saw my gun.

I was skeptical that they were correct about the law and I said so, but, nevertheless, I took my gun back out to my car and left it there. I’ve since had a chance to verify that I was, in fact, correct about the law. In Washington State, state law trumps local law. State law says I can carry my gun—concealed or open—almost anywhere: on the train (Sounder) on buses, into county and city buildings, into libraries, Tacoma, Seattle, Yakima, etc. Private businesses are another matter. That’s for the owner to decide. No one supports private property rights more strongly than I do, but last night’s meeting wasn’t at a private property. The only places where one cannot carry a gun in Washington State (besides federal buildings) is in places specifically prohibited by state law. Here is the specific RCW:

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9.41.300

I’ve had similar discussions before with some of the folks who “run” the club and it seems like there’s quite a lot of ignorance about the law. It would be good if we were all more educated about the law and about our rights.

That leads me to my other point and the what I wanted to say at the meeting last night. The club has a “no open carry” policy and to say that I think that rule is wrong would be to put it mildly. I won’t bother rewriting the point, but will simply paste here what I typed up yesterday and was hoping to read last night:


-----
If one needs to pay a fee to a government agency to get a permit to do something, it is not a right, but a privilege that the government bestows. The government has infringed on my rights enough, and that is why I choose to carry openly. If we don’t exercise our rights, we will lose them. Not only is it critical to exercise our rights publicly, but carrying openly allows me the opportunity to educate those who are not aware that anyone is free to carry their gun openly throughout Washington State. On more than one occasion—even just this past Sunday—I have been able to educate others about their rights, simply because I was carrying openly.

It is incongruous that a shooting club disallows its members from carrying a pistol openly, despite the fact that we go there to shoot. No one I have asked has been able to give me a cogent, meaningful reason for why I am not allowed to carry my firearm openly at the club. Of the few places I am not permitted to carry my gun openly, a shooting club makes the least sense of all. Please reconsider your policy of disallowing open carry at the Tacoma Rifle and Revolver Club.
-----

In closing, I just wanted to say thanks for all the time you all put in at the club. I enjoy having a place that’s close by where I can go shooting. I know you all work hard. I hope you will be open to what I have said and will, at a minimum, have a discussion regarding eliminating the “no open carry” policy.

Thanks,
Jay
 

golddigger14s

Activist Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2010
Messages
2,068
Location
Lawton, OK USA
Seem pretty well written. You did the right thing the other night by taking the gun outside to your car. You may not be doing anything wrong, but you took the proverbial high road instead of having a ******* match and creating a scene. You take it outside, and then go back to the principals like you are doing to address the issue. We have to show them we are not criminals, and above them in tact. I've only one issue with a business, so I left after politely pointing out they were wrong. I then contacted the owner, who apologized and said he would educate his employees. Keep us updated.
 
Top