WA Schools

Well,,,

Private or public doesnt change the law.
You may pick up and drop off a student, But
DO NOT go inside the building! That would be a no-no.

1245A Defender said:

Private or public doesnt change the law.
You may pick up and drop off a student, But
DO NOT go inside the building! That would be a no-no.

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The RCW doesn't state you can't go in a building when picking-up or dropping off. It simply says the subsection doesn't apply to a CPL holder in the act of "picking-up or dropping off a student". I walk my daughter to her classroom as part of dropping her off. She's 5. When she's 15, obviously that won't be the case, but she still likes to be with daddy and give me a hug, even in front of the whole class. If the law stated no one period (no subsection exceptions) could carry in the building, then I'd roll with it. But after discussing it positively with the private school director, who came from a public school background, I'm inclined to stick to my guns (no pun intended?)

--
Peace. ~G

You are not allowed to enter a building with a firearm. The RCW's state it clear as day.

(6) Except as provided in subsection (3)(b), (c), (f), and (h) of this section, firearms are not permitted in a public or private school building.

(b) Any person engaged in military, law enforcement, or school district security activities. However, a person who is not a commissioned law enforcement officer and who provides school security services under the direction of a school administrator may not possess a device listed in subsection (1)(f) of this section unless he or she has successfully completed training in the use of such devices that is equivalent to the training received by commissioned law enforcement officers;

(c) Any person who is involved in a convention, showing, demonstration, lecture, or firearms safety course authorized by school authorities in which the firearms of collectors or instructors are handled or displayed;

(f) Any nonstudent at least eighteen years of age legally in possession of a firearm or dangerous weapon that is secured within an attended vehicle or concealed from view within a locked unattended vehicle while conducting legitimate business at the school;

(h) Any law enforcement officer of the federal, state, or local government agency.

joeroket said:

You are not allowed to enter a building with a firearm. The RCW's state it clear as day.

(6) Except as provided in subsection (3)(b), (c), (f), and (h) of this section, firearms are not permitted in a public or private school building.

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Yes, you've got it right! It might help, in addition, to point out that section about picking up or dropping off students is (3)(e), which is specifically omitted from the list of exceptions in #6:

"(e) Any person in possession of a pistol who has been issued a license under RCW 9.41.070, or is exempt from the licensing requirement by RCW 9.41.060, while picking up or dropping off a student;"

In other words, you are still not allowed to carry inside the building simply by virtue of having your CPL and being in the process of picking up or dropping off a student.

kparker said:

Yes, you've got it right! It might help, in addition, to point out that section about picking up or dropping off students is (3)(e), which is specifically omitted from the list of exceptions in #6:

"(e) Any person in possession of a pistol who has been issued a license under RCW 9.41.070, or is exempt from the licensing requirement by RCW 9.41.060, while picking up or dropping off a student;"

In other words, you are still not allowed to carry inside the building simply by virtue of having your CPL and being in the process of picking up or dropping off a student.

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Interesting thoughts here. I certainly may have misread the RCW regarding the exception, and was again misinformed by the director at my daughter's preschool. That said, here's my biggest dilemma...

We walk to school. It's about a 15min walk, and I'm usually accompanied by my wife and infant son. We'll frequently take a nifty double-stroller, which my daughter can stand up in and my son sits in. Either way, once we arrive at school, there is nowhere to secure the firearm. No car, no lock-box, etc. My only option then would be to walk without it, which I'd prefer not to do for a multitude of reasons. There's no use going into the whole "only those intending to use a firearm improperly would be a concern anyway, and it be better if someone who intended to prevent such a thing was present with equal defenses", as the law is the law. Yet again, law-abiding citizens are going to be the ones in trouble when the criminals do things their own way. If someone has a valid CPL, you would think they would be trusted enough to own and care for a firearm.

Thanks for the additional info. I'll disarm for now when walking and leave it in the car when driving. Shame either way.

--
Peace. ~G

Guido, Another option, since you're doing this with your wife, is to let her go in with your daughter while you remain outside with your son in the stroller.

And don't be embarrassed about not getting it, that particular section is one of most convoluted pieces of nonsense in the RCW--out of incompetence, not deliberately, I assume, though you never know...

joeroket said:

You are not allowed to enter a building with a firearm. The RCW's state it clear as day.

(6) Except as provided in subsection (3)(b), (c), (f), and (h) of this section, firearms are not permitted in a public or private school building.

(f) Any nonstudent at least eighteen years of age legally in possession of a firearm or dangerous weapon that is secured within an attended vehicle or concealed from view within a locked unattended vehicle while conducting legitimate business at the school;

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Does anyone else find this strange? It's ok to take it in the building if it's secured in a vehicle? WTF? Is it normal for people to take their vehicles inside the school building? I think this is actually an error and it should indicate that E is the exception.

Auto shop class.

sirpuma said:

Does anyone else find this strange? It's ok to take it in the building if it's secured in a vehicle? WTF? Is it normal for people to take their vehicles inside the school building? I think this is actually an error and it should indicate that E is the exception.

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If this was Facebook I would like this.

gogodawgs said:

Auto shop class.

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If this were Facebook I would program a 'Love it' button just to love this rebuttal

gogodawgs said:

Auto shop class.

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Non-students not associated with the school don't take their cars to auto shop class for repairs, at least not the last time I checked. And what about at a grade school or Jr High where there is no auto shop?

It certainly would not be the first time they have forgotten to change an exception when they added a new letter to an RCW. Even if this were the case, which I am highly suspect of, I seriously doubt it would get changed to allow us to carry inside a school building with a CPL because it would have to be a bill to fix it and they more than likely would just remove (f) from the listed exceptions to building carry.

sirpuma said:

Non-students not associated with the school don't take their cars to auto shop class for repairs, at least not the last time I checked. And what about at a grade school or Jr High where there is no auto shop?

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Not entirely true. When I was in auto shop we had all sorts of people who brought their cars in for repairs. Teachers, parents, community members who were supporting the program and even a few board members. This exception would be of use to them but under normal circumstances would also provide access to the firearm by the students as they need access to the interior of the car for almost all troubleshooting. So in reality I fail to see the value of the (f) exception.

My son goes to a franchise daycare center - when he first came there I noticed a little "emergency response - lockdown poster" included "person with gun - call police etc etc..." BUT it was taped to cover that part up! Now they have a new poster and it does not include the person with gun part at all - they know I carry, one of the daycare workers has a taurus sticker and a CC sticker on her car. The daycare managers are 2a friendly! Yep! I feel safe with my kid there...

Normally we like to post up 2A friendly businesses... I think this would be one of those times where discretion is the best interest for the business and the community.

kparker said:

Guido, Another option, since you're doing this with your wife, is to let her go in with your daughter while you remain outside with your son in the stroller.

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Thanks for the input. Please read this post for a reason against that, but yes, certainly a good option. Just not preferred.

kparker said:

And don't be embarrassed about not getting it, that particular section is one of most convoluted pieces of nonsense in the RCW--out of incompetence, not deliberately, I assume, though you never know...

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I read it quote a bit, trying to follow the exceptions and relate them all where needed. It was a big deal to me to make sure to get it right. Can't win them all, but whatever research I did convinced the preschool director that it was ok!

Being a private school, I suppose they do have the right to say "go ahead and bring that in here", even if they do have a "no firearms" sign posted... correct?

--
Peace. ~G