Some Good and Bad out of Seattle

On Sunday and Monday there was a decent amount of coverage on firearms in the Seattle newspapers.

First the good. On Sunday the Seattle Times posted an LA Times article on the subject of open carry. The article gives a fair report on the everyday people who have not only adopted concealed carry, but expanded to openly carrying a gun in public as well. Generally they are not depicted as crazy or out of the ordinary, but regular people who have made an informed and responsible decision to exercise their rights:

The Jensens are part of a fledgling movement to make a firearm as common an accessory as an iPod. Called open-carry by its supporters, the movement has attracted grandparents, graduate students and lifelong gun enthusiasts like the Jensens.

Now the bad. On Monday, anti-gun zealot and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels announced a ban on all guns from city facilities including parks, Seattle Center, and community centers. This executive order applies even to concealed carry permit holders (called a concealed pistol license in Washington State). Because of preemption, cities and municipalities in Washington State have no power to enact their own firearms laws. This means that the only offense for disobeying the order is to considered a trespasser and asked to leave the premises. Nickels correctly predicts the challenges that are sure to come from his illegal order:

"I would not be surprised if there is a challenge to our authority on this," Nickels said. He said a recent lawsuit involving the city of Sequim may give him authority to ban concealed weapons on city property.

Let us hope that this order, even though it creates no arrestable offense, is recognized for its abhorrence to state law and struck down. Nickels could learn much from the recent defeats that Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter suffered when he tried to defy state law and write the rules himself. Do the people of these fair cities not recognize the slippery slope that their executives are on when they start arbitrarily creating laws in defiance of other laws? There may be no outcry when they are in agreement with these tyrannical moves, but what happens when one of the rights they hold dear are randomly tossed aside? By then it will be too late to complain.