Carry in Seattle Center
As I understand it, Ceasefire Washington plans to end their march at Seattle Center.
Seattle Center is a department of the City of Seattle.
Under
Seattle Center Rules of Conduct:
Section "C" (Definitions)
16.
“Weapon” means
any firearm or any instrument designed or intended to propel a missile of any kind, or any knife having a blade of three inches or more, or any straight-edge razor, spring stick, metal knuckles, blackjack, bat, club or other bludgeon-type instrument, or any flailing instrument consisting of two or more rigid parts connected in such a manner as to allow them to swing freely, such as nun chahkas, nunchakus or shurikens, or chains, or whips, or stars, or darts, or stun gun, or taser, or any disc having at least two points or pointed blades which is designed to be thrown or propelled.
17.
“Weapon Violation” means
possession or use of a weapon in violation of Chapter 9.41 of the Revised Code of Washington, Chapter 12A.14 of the Seattle Municipal Code or other applicable statute or ordinance.
Section "I" (Rules of Conduct)
4. Weapons
It is Prohibited To:
a. Sell, manufacture, purchase, possess or carry any blackjack, sand-club, metal knuckles, switchblade knife, chako sticks, or throwing stars.
b. Carry concealed or unconcealed on his or her person any dangerous knife unless used as a tool for work by Seattle Center employees or their authorized agents, or
carry concealed on his or her person any weapon. Seattle Center employees are subject to the Seattle Center Employees Firearm Policy.
c.
Possess or display a firearm on the campus,
unless permitted by applicable law.
[my opinion, subject to the disclaimer in my sig, below]
As I interpret the applicable law:
The rules, as written at C(16), show that "firearms" are included in their definition of "weapons." At C(17), the rules then state that a "weapon violation" includes "possession or use of a weapon," but then qualifies that "possession or use" is a violation ONLY when that possession or use is done 1) in violation of Chapter 9.41 (firearms), or 2) in violation of SMC 12A.14 (knives).
The "implication" at first-blush reading is that firearms are absolutely prohibited in possession and use on the Seattle Center Campus. IMHO, this appears to be a carefully drafted set of rules to make the average reader believe that (s)he cannot carry a pistol, either openly or concealed on the campus.
But that is not what the rules say; the crucial clauses being the "in violation of RCW 9.41 or SMC 12A.14" clause in C(17), and the "unless permitted by applicable law" clause in I(4)(c).
The holding in
Pacific Northwest Shooting Park Association v. Sequim makes it clear that when a municipality acts as a private landlord when leasing out its facilities to private parties, the private party leasing the venue can restrict the possession of weapons in the venue when it is being leased by that private party. However, the holding in
Chan v. City of Seattle makes it clear that when the venue is open to the public in its capacity as a "public" venue, it is subject to state preemption found in
RCW 9.41.290 and, as such, the city may not lawfully prohibit the possession of firearms on the property during those times.
[/my opinion]
Although this particular topic has been explored in other threads, for my own edification I synthesized the law into what I view as a concise take on my rights WRT Seattle City Center. YMMV. But, this is how I would argue it if I were to have to defend myself against an alleged violation of Seattle Center Rules for possession of a handgun on the campus.
