By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Voting along straight party lines, Washington State Senate Democrats on Monday pushed through House Bill 1163, requiring permits and mandatory training to purchase firearms, and already Second Amendment activists are promising legal action.
Writing on Facebook, Aoibheann Cline, lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, stated, “Prepare for a long legal battle.” She asserted the measure is unconstitutional, an argument which no doubt will be at the core of every legal action to come, whether filed in state or federal court.
Alan Gottlieb, founder and executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation and chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms told TGM via text message, “This will result in another civil rights lawsuit against the State of Washington.”
SAF is already involved in federal challenges of the state’s ban on so-called “large capacity magazines” and “assault weapons.”
Firearms retailer Daniel Mitchell, founder of the Washington Civil Rights Association, has already promised to be a plaintiff in a legal action, should the bill be signed into law.
According to the recorded vote:
Voting Yea: Senators Alvarado (D-34), Bateman (D-22), Chapman (D-24), Cleveland (D-49), Conway (D-29), Cortes (D-18), Dhingra (D-45), Frame (D-36), Hansen (D-23), Hasegawa (D-11), Kauffman (D-47), Krishnadasan (D-26), Liias (D-21), Lovick (D-44), Nobles (D-28), Orwall (D-33), Pedersen (D-43), Ramos (D-5), Riccelli (D-3), Robinson (D-38), Saldaña (D-37), Salomon (D-32), Shewmake (D-42), Slatter (D-48), Stanford (D-1), Trudeau (D-27), Valdez (D-46), Wellman (D-41), Wilson, C. (D-30)
Voting Nay: Senators Boehnke (R-8), Braun (R-20), Christian (R-4), Dozier (R-16), Fortunato (R-31), Gildon (R-25), Goehner (R-12), Harris (R-17), Holy (R-6), King (R-14), MacEwen (R-35), McCune (R-2), Muzzall (R-10), Schoesler (R-9), Short (R-7), Torres (R-15), Wagoner (R-39), Warnick (R-13), Wilson, J. (R-19)
Absent: None
Excused: Senator Lovelett (D-40)
The bill must now go back to the House for concurrence on a single amendment, and then to the desk of Democrat Gov. Bob Ferguson.
Under HB 1163, in addition to requiring a permit to purchase for new gun owners, the training mandate included in the permit process will also be required for anyone applying for or renewing a concealed pistol license beginning in November 2026. The mandated gun safety course will include a live fire exercise of at least 50 rounds. Opponents have warned there are insufficient range facilities and certified instructors to accommodate the numbers of people who will need to take the course in order to exercise their constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms under both the Second Amendment and Article 1, Section 24 of the Washington Constitution.
By voting in lockstep, Democrats have fully shown their fealty to the Alliance for Gun Responsibility, a Seattle-based and billionaire-backed gun prohibition lobbying group which listed the permit-to-purchase as one of their legislative priorities.
Reaction from grassroots activists was purely negative. Messages posted on one thread at the Washington 2025 Legislative Action Group were bristling. One man called for an initiative “that requires elected officials to pass a constitution class and minimum 20 hrs training. Then a license before they can sponsor a bill.”
Another stated, “I think the politicians should have to get a permit to run for and mandatory training before they are on any ballot!”
A third person observed, “They are truly trying to turn this state into a Nazi state!”
The Seattle Times is quoting Democrat Sen. Marko Liias, who sponsored the Senate companion bill. He claimed requiring a permit to purchase is a “commonsense measure that will save lives and enhance public safety.” HB 1163 was sponsored by Seattle Democrat Rep. Liz Berry. She received financial support from the Alliance for Gun Responsibility in 2024, according to the Public Disclosure Commission.
On the other side, state Sen. Mark Schoesler, a Ritzville Republican, called the legislation, along with a proposed hike in hunting and fishing licenses, a “poorly designed assault on hardworking taxpayers.”
According to the state Department of Licensing, there are currently more than 700,000 active concealed pistol licenses in Washington.
