Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Z-0202.2
                                 SENATE BILL 5217
     State of Washington         67th Legislature      2021 Regular Session
     By Senators Kuderer, Darneille, Dhingra, Hunt, Liias, Nguyen,
     Pedersen, C. Wilson, and Lovelett; by request of Attorney General
     Read first time 01/14/21.   Referred to Committee on Law & Justice.
     AN ACT Relating to assault weapons; adding        new   sections   to
 chapter 9.41 RCW; and prescribing penalties.
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
     NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 9.41 RCW
 to read as follows:
     For purposes of sections 2 and 3 of this act only, the following
 terms have the following meanings:
     (1) "Assault weapon" means:
     (a) Any of the following specific firearms or a copycat weapon,
 regardless of which company produced and manufactured the firearm:
     (i) AK-47 in all forms;
     (ii) AK-74 in all forms;
     (iii) Algimec AGM-1 type semi-auto;
     (iv) American Arms Spectre da Semiautomatic carbine;
     (v) AR15, M16, or M4 in all forms;
     (vi) AR 180 type semi-auto;
     (vii) Argentine L.S.R. semi-auto;
     (viii) Australian Automatic;
     (ix) Auto-Ordnance Thompson M1 and 1927 Semi-Automatics;
     (x) Barrett .50 cal light semi-auto;
     (xi) Barrett .50 cal M87;
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 (xii) Barrett .50 cal M107A1;
 (xiii) Barrett REC7;
 (xiv) Beretta AR70/S70 type semi-auto;
 (xv) Bushmaster Carbon 15;
 (xvi) Bushmaster ACR;
 (xvii) Bushmaster XM-15;
 (xviii) Bushmaster MOE;
 (xix) Calico models M100 and M900;
 (xx) CETME Sporter;
 (xxi) CIS SR 88 type semi-auto;
 (xxii) Colt CAR 15;
 (xxiii) Daewoo K-1;
 (xxiv) Daewoo K-2;
 (xxv) Dragunov Semi-Auto;
 (xxvi) Fabrique Nationale FAL in all forms;
 (xxvii) Fabrique Nationale F2000;
 (xxviii) Fabrique Nationale L1A1 Sporter;
 (xxix) Fabrique Nationale M249S;
 (xxx) Fabrique Nationale PS90;
 (xxxi) Fabrique Nationale SCAR;
 (xxxii) FAMAS .223 Semi-Auto;
 (xxxiii) Galil;
 (xxxiv) Heckler & Koch G3 in all forms;
 (xxxv) Heckler & Koch HK-41/91;
 (xxxvi) Heckler & Koch HK-43/93;
 (xxxvii) Heckler & Koch HK94A2/3;
 (xxxviii) Heckler & Koch MP-5 in all forms;
 (xxxix) Heckler & Koch PSG-1;
 (xl) Heckler & Koch SL8;
 (xli) Heckler & Koch UMP;
 (xlii) Manchester Arms Commando MK-45;
 (xliii) Manchester Arms MK-9;
 (xliv) SAR-4800;
 (xlv) SIG AMT SG510 in all forms;
 (xlvi) SIG SG550 in all forms;
 (xlvii) SKS;
 (xlviii) Spectre M4;
 (xlix) Springfield Armory BM-59;
 (l) Springfield Armory G3;
 (li) Springfield Armory SAR-8;
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     (lii) Springfield Armory SAR-48;
     (liii) Springfield Armory SAR-3;
     (liv) Springfield Armory M-21 Sniper;
     (lv) Springfield Armory M1A;
     (lvi) Smith & Wesson M&P 15;
     (lvii) Sterling Mk 1;
     (lviii) Sterling Mk 6/7;
     (lix) Steyr AUG;
     (lx) TNW M230;
     (lxi) FAMAS F11; or
     (lxii) Uzi 9mm carbine/rifle;
     (b) A semiautomatic, centerfire, or rimfire rifle that has an
 overall length of less than 30 inches; or
     (c) A conversion kit, part, or combination of parts, from which
 an assault weapon can be assembled if those parts are in the
 possession or under the control of the same person.
     "Assault weapon" does not include antique firearms, any firearm
 that has been made permanently inoperable, any firearm that is
 manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action, or a pistol
 that is not identified in (a) of this subsection and does not meet
 the description in subsection (2) of this section.
     (2) "Copycat weapon" means a semiautomatic, centerfire firearm
 that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and has one or
 more of the following:
     (a) A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action
 of the weapon, unless the firearm is a pistol as defined in this
 section;
     (b) Thumbhole stock;
     (c) Folding or telescoping stock;
     (d) Forward pistol, vertical, angled, or other grip designed for
 use by the nonfiring hand to improve control during a high rate of
 fire;
     (e) Flash suppressor, flash guard, flash eliminator, flash hider,
 sound suppressor, silencer, or any item designed to reduce the visual
 or audio signature of the firearm;
     (f) Muzzle brake, recoil compensator, or any item designed to be
 affixed to the barrel to reduce recoil or muzzle rise;
     (g) Threaded barrel designed to attach a flash suppressor, sound
 suppressor, muzzle break, or similar item; or
     (h) Grenade launcher or flare launcher.
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     (3) "Detachable magazine" means an ammunition feeding device that
 can be loaded or unloaded while detached from a firearm and readily
 inserted into a firearm.
     (4) "Semiautomatic" means any firearm that uses a portion of the
 energy of a firing cartridge to extract the fired cartridge case and
 chamber the next round, and that requires a separate pull of the
 trigger to fire each cartridge.
     NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 9.41 RCW
 to read as follows:
     (1) No person in this state may manufacture, possess, distribute,
 import, transfer, sell, offer for sale, purchase, or otherwise
 transfer any assault weapon except as authorized in this section.
     (2) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to any of the
 following:
     (a) The possession of an assault weapon by a person who legally
 possessed the assault weapon on the effective date of this section,
 or possession of an assault weapon by a person who, on or after the
 effective date of this section, acquires possession of the assault
 weapon by operation of law upon the death of the former owner who was
 in legal possession of the assault weapon, provided the person in
 possession of the assault weapon can establish such provenance. A
 person who legally possesses an assault weapon under this subsection
 may not sell or transfer the assault weapon to any other person in
 this state other than to a licensed dealer, to a federally licensed
 gun smith for the purpose of service or repair, or to a law
 enforcement agency for the purpose of permanently relinquishing the
 assault weapon;
     (b) Any government officer, agent, or employee; member of the
 armed forces of the United States or the state of Washington; or law
 enforcement officer, to the extent that such person is otherwise
 authorized to acquire or possess an assault weapon and does so while
 acting within the scope of his or her duties;
     (c) The manufacture, offering for sale, sale, importation, or
 transfer of an assault weapon by a licensed firearms manufacturer for
 the purposes of sale to any branch of the armed forces of the United
 States or the state of Washington, or to a law enforcement agency in
 this state for use by that agency or its employees;
     (d) The possession, offering for sale, sale, importation, or
 transfer of an assault weapon by a dealer that is properly licensed
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 under federal and state law for the purpose of sale to any branch of
 the armed forces of the United States or the state of Washington, or
 to a law enforcement agency in this state for use by that agency or
 its employees for law enforcement purposes;
     (e) The possession, offering for sale, sale, importation, or
 transfer of an assault weapon by a dealer that is properly licensed
 under federal and state law where the dealer acquires the assault
 weapon from a person legally authorized to possess or transfer the
 assault weapon under (a) of this subsection for the purpose of
 selling or transferring the assault weapon to a person who does not
 reside in this state;
     (f) The transfer to and possession of a legally possessed assault
 weapon by a federally licensed gunsmith for the purposes of service
 or repair, and the return of the assault weapon to the lawful owner;
     (g) The possession, offering for sale, sale, importation, or
 transfer of an unloaded assault weapon for the purpose of permanently
 relinquishing it to a law enforcement agency in this state;
     (h) The importation or possession of an assault weapon for the
 purpose of lawfully participating in a sporting event officially
 sanctioned by a club or organization established in whole or in part
 for the purpose of sponsoring sport shooting events;
     (i) The possession, importation, purchase, or transfer of an
 assault weapon by marshals, sheriffs, prison or jail wardens or their
 deputies, or other law enforcement officers of this or another state
 while acting within the scope of their duties, including such
 possession while not on duty, but specifically authorized by command
 staff and necessary for the performance of such duties;
     (j) The possession of an assault weapon by law enforcement
 officers retired for service or physical disabilities, when the
 assault weapon in question was acquired as part of the officer's
 separation from service;
     (k) Members of the armed forces of the United States or of the
 national guard or organized services, when on duty;
     (l) Officers or employees of the United States duly authorized to
 possess assault weapons;
     (m) Any persons lawfully engaged in shooting at a duly licensed,
 lawfully operated shooting range; or
     (n) The possession or transfer of an unloaded assault weapon for
 the purpose of permanently relinquishing it to a law enforcement
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 agency in this state. An assault weapon relinquished to a law
 enforcement agency under this subsection must be destroyed.
     (3) In order to continue to possess an assault weapon that was
 legally possessed on the effective date of this section, the person
 possessing the assault weapon shall possess the assault weapon only
 on property owned or immediately controlled by the person, or while
 engaged in the legal use of the assault weapon at a duly licensed
 firing range, or while engaged in a lawful outdoor recreational
 activity such as hunting, or while traveling to or from either of
 these locations for the purpose of engaging in the legal use of the
 assault weapon, provided that the assault weapon is stored unloaded
 and in a separate locked container during transport.
     (4) A person who violates this section is guilty of a class C
 felony punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW.
     NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 9.41 RCW
 to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a
 person shall not:
     (a) Transport an assault weapon into Washington state; or
     (b) Possess, sell, offer to sell, transfer, purchase, or receive
 an assault weapon.
     (2)(a) A person who lawfully possessed, has a purchase order for,
 or completed an application to purchase an assault weapon before
 January 1, 2022, and who has registered the assault weapon with the
 Washington state patrol may:
     (i) Continue to possess and transport the assault weapon; or
     (ii) While carrying a court order requiring the surrender of the
 assault weapon, transport the assault weapon directly to a law
 enforcement unit, barracks, or station if the person has notified the
 law enforcement unit, barracks, or station that the person is
 transporting the assault weapon in accordance with a court order and
 the assault weapon is unloaded.
     (b) A licensed firearms dealer may continue to possess, sell,
 offer for sale, or transfer an assault weapon or a copycat weapon
 that the licensed firearms dealer lawfully possessed on or before
 January 1, 2022.
     (c) A person may transport an assault weapon to or from:
     (i) An ISO 17025 accredited, national institute of justice–
 approved ballistics testing laboratory; or
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     (ii) A facility or entity that manufactures or provides research
 and development testing, analysis, or engineering for personal
 protective equipment or vehicle protection systems.
     NEW SECTION.    Sec. 4.    If any provision of this act or its
 application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
 remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other
 persons or circumstances is not affected.
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