OLYMPIA, Wash. – In just two days, purchasing a firearm in Washington will look different.
New gun laws take effect on Jan. 1, which means anyone looking to purchase a gun will have additional steps to take before getting one in their hands.
Throughout 2023, there was pushback on both sides of the argument across Washington state. Now, businesses are preparing for the changes.
When House Bill 1143 was first brought to the table earlier this year, it was authored by 18 state leaders. They said, at the time, it was an effort to reduce gun violence in the state.
Fast forward to the end of 2023: those laws will be in effect in the new year.
“We’re hoping that the state patrol is prepared and on day one when we roll this thing out, that the background checks will get processed, and the logins will work and all this stuff is going to roll like it’s supposed to,” said Wade Gaughran, the owner of Wade’s Eastside Guns.
Gaughran said his business is ready to go. However, he has reservations about the state’s preparations.
“I have like zero confidence that that is going to happen because it’s something new,” Gaughran said. “And so, we’ll see. We’ll see what happens. The system that’s in place was working extremely well.”
The major changes come Jan. 1, which now says there’s a 10-day waiting period to purchase any gun, whether that’s a shotgun or pistol.
“It processes as it’s supposed to, and ten days is actually ten days,” Gaughran said. “Ten government days is never ten government days.”
Gaughran said it’ll be on the businesses to play middleman with customers and the new laws.
“We’re the buffer there, right,” Gaughran said. “Nobody gets to talk to the state patrol. Nobody’s calling state patrol and asking, where is my background check? They’re calling us – where is my background check? I want to pick up my gun, the law says ten days.”
All in all, after three decades of selling firearms, Gaughran said this is just another change in the way the evolution of the gun-selling landscape that they’ll work through.
“It’s just another business problem,” Gaughran said. “I mean, if I wanted a simple life, I wouldn’t have sold guns. This is just a tough business. It’s always a tough business.”
House Bill 1143 was led in part by State Representative Liz Berry and Senator Strom Peterson. Earlier this month, Rep. Berry and other state leaders were at the White House for the Legislative Convening on Gun Violence Prevention. Rep. Berry said on her social media, gun violence is one of her main focus points as it’s personal to her.
FOX13 has reached out to more of the state leaders spearheading this bill and will update this story when we receive a response.
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