Washington Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action, Everytown Applaud Washington Senate Committee for Advancing Common-Sense Gun Safety Bills

SB6294 Would Require Concealed Pistol License Applicants to Undergo Training and Show Proof of Completion Before Being Issued a License 

SB6288 Would Establish the Office of Firearm Violence Prevention

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington Moms Demand Action and Student Demand Action, both a part of Everytown for Gun Safety, applauded the Washington Senate Law and Justice Committee for advancing Senate Bill 6294, a bill that would require all Concealed Pistol License applicants to undergo safety training, and Senate Bill 6288, a bill that would establish the Washington Office of Firearm Violence Prevention. The passage of these bills comes after a string of shootings in the state, including shootings in Seattle, Tacoma, and Auburn. 

“In the past few weeks, we’ve seen firsthand how gun violence can critically impact our communities,” said Clare Miller, a volunteer with the Washington chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “Today, we’re one step closer to better protecting Washington communities from gun violence. We look forward to supporting these bills until they are Washington law.”

“Washington state has always been an important player in the gun safety movement,” said Kyungmin Yook, a volunteer with Washington Students Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “But that doesn’t mean the legislature has to be complacent. By advancing these gun safety bills, our lawmakers continue to move forward with life-saving legislation that is critical in our state. We urge our lawmakers to continue moving these bills through the legislature swiftly.”

Currently, Washington is one of only 10 states in the country that does not require training before issuing a license to carry a concealed handgun in public. Almost every state requires some version of training for license applicants, and more than half of these states require that a person complete a live-fire training component before being issued a license to carry a concealed handgun. The Concealed Pistol License training will ensure that only responsible gun owners who are properly trained are able to carry firearms in public spaces. 

The Office of Firearm Violence Prevention will promote effective state and local efforts to reduce preventable injuries and deaths from daily gun violence in Washington. Community violence intervention programs have already been successful helping reduce daily gun violence in California, New York, and Massachusetts by applying localized approaches to addressing gun violence in some of their cities’ hardest-hit neighborhoods. 

Statistics about gun violence in Washington are available here, and information on how Washington’s gun laws compare to other states overall is available here.