Travel in Washington

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I will be driving throughWashington in a few weeks and currently have a Utah CCW permit. Is there any place in Washington that you CAN’T carry (OC and/or CC) with a valid permit? Any other things that may present a problem for me? I will be staying in a hotel in Washington, and stopping at gas stations, restaurants, rest areas, and maybe a store or two.

Some questions I can think of:

Does a “no guns” sign at a store carry any legal weight or can it be ignored as in Utah?

Is there a restricted restaurant carry?

Is there a restricted Vehicle carry?



Thanks in advance for any replies

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Laws for this are contained in RCW 9.41.300 and RCW 9.41.280.

No Zones:

Courthouses (storage required)
Places declared off limits to under 21 under the state liquor control board (bars, bars in restaurants)
Mental Health Facilities
Law enforcement facilities and jails (public areas of egress do not count).
K-12 schools and school grounds (with certain limited exceptions)

Assuming you have a Utah CFP, you can carry concealed or loaded in your car. Also, remember that in Washington, your pistol must be concealed from view when AWAY from your vehicle if you leave your pistol in your car. There is no requirement to conceal outside of that.

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xmirage2kx wrote:

Does a “no guns” sign at a store carry any legal weight or can it be ignored as in Utah?

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In Washington a sign like this carrys no "weight of law". The owner, who posted the sign, can request that you leave if he finds you are ignoring his sign. If you refuse he can call police, issue a tresspass notice, and then have you removed if necessary.

I have lived and carried in Washington most of my adult life and find "no firearms" signs on places other than those serving liquor to be a rarity. Those that are are on public facilities that are not specifically spelled out in the sections Lonnie referenced are invalid as local authority to pass laws more restrictive were "preempted" by state law.

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Thank you for the info. I know many companies that do post no firearms signs do so for insurance, but some states allow that to be law and not just a warning that you may be asked to leave because you are carrying. Sounds like Washington is a much more carry friendly state than I though it would be given its perceived political side of the fence.



:celebrate:celebrate:celebrate:celebrate

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xmirage2kx wrote:

Thank you for the info. I know many companies that do post no firearms signs do so for insurance, but some states allow that to be law and not just a warning that you may be asked to leave because you are carrying. Sounds like Washington is a much more carry friendly state than I though it would be given its perceived political side of the fence.



:celebrate:celebrate:celebrate:celebrate

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It probably gripes the $h!t out of our resident Dem's that our constitution (State) leaves no doubt that the right to bear arms is an individual right.

SECTION 24 RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS.
The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this Section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men.

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Unlike the US Constitution there is no implication of this right being only for members of a Militia. Make's it tough for the "Rosie O'Donnel's" of the State to say only Militias can bear arms.

Too bad other States didn't adopt this language in their State Constitutions too.

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Washington has a tremendous "Gun Culture". It isn't talked about all that much on the west side of the state. Crime is low here (relatively speaking) and our carry laws are some of the oldest in the nation. Guns are commonplace and to the dismay of the Seattle left, they are here to stay. It seems like everyone has a carry license.

The Wasington anti-gunners carry suprisingly little weight here and is not grassroots in nature. They are still quite dangerous because of their politcal influence with leftists politicians and the media.

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amlevin wrote:

Unlike the US Constitution there is no implication of this right being only for members of a Militia. Make's it tough for the "Rosie O'Donnel's" of the State to say only Militias can bear arms.

Too bad other States didn't adopt this language in their State Constitutions too.

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I like this, too:

RCW 38.04.030
Composition of the militia.

The militia of the state of Washington shall consist of all able bodied citizens of the United States and all other able bodied persons who have declared their intention to become citizens of the United States, residing within this state, who shall be more than eighteen years of age, and shall include all persons who are members of the national guard and the state guard, and said militia shall be divided into two classes, the organized militia and the unorganized militia.

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The way I read it, if the Second Amendment is someday interpreted as meaning that only militias can bear arms, we're still covered.