Every Washingtonian deserves to be free from the threat of gun violence. While we continue to make incredible steps forward, our work is far from over. The Alliance for Gun Responsibility’s 2025 Policy Agenda establishes critical measures that we will advocate for in Olympia to save lives throughout our state.
Download our 2025 Policy Agenda Here
Require a Permit to Purchase Firearms: Permit-to-purchase systems ensure that background checks occur before a firearm purchase rather than at the point of sale. This life-saving tool has been proven to reduce firearm-related deaths, curb illegal gun trafficking, and help ensure firearms don’t fall into dangerous hands. Additionally, permitting provides an extra layer of safety by involving additional checks in the initial stages of firearm acquisition.
Hold Dealers Accountable: We must ensure that firearms are sold and managed in a manner that prioritizes public safety. Holding the gun industry accountable to established responsible standards of care for firearm dealers operating in Washington State is critically important for public safety. Requiring compliance to these standards to maintain a dealer license ensures that firearm retailers are taking reasonable precautions regarding safe storage, preventing straw purchases, and maintaining accurate records.
Support and Fund Community Safety: Gun violence disproportionately affects young people and communities of color. Washington State must invest in community-based intervention programs by authorizing Medicaid to fund these initiatives in trauma centers, restricting the sale of lookalike airsoft rifles and toy guns, and ensure consistent funding for the implementation of gun violence prevention policies and programs like the Office of Firearm Safety and Violence Prevention to close dangerous loopholes and support at-risk communities effectively.
Restrict Firearms in Sensitive Places: We must apply additional safeguards by expanding restrictions into parks and public buildings and allowing local governing bodies to craft regulations that fit the needs of their communities. Such measures are vital in creating a comprehensive approach to gun safety, enhancing the well-being of all citizens.
Require the Safe Storage of Firearms: Firearms continue to be the leading cause of death for children in the United States. We must mitigate risks associated with unsecured firearms and their impact on accidental shootings, domestic violence, and suicide by requiring firearms be safely stored at home and, crucially, in vehicles where they are stolen most often. Properly storing firearms in secure safes or lockboxes can prevent them from being stolen and ending up in dangerous hands, contributing to illegal firearm trafficking.
Restrict Bulk Firearm and Ammunition Purchases: Limiting the number of firearms and ammunition an individual can purchase at a given time is a straightforward approach to prevent gun trafficking. Data shows that multiple firearms sales are a significant indicator of firearms trafficking, and firearms sold in such sales are frequently recovered at crime scenes.
Establish a Tax on Firearm Sales and Ammunition: Gun violence costs Washington state an average of $11.8 billion every year, ranging from direct medical costs and criminal justice services to a lost quality of life for victims and their families after a tragedy. Washington must raise revenue to support victims and service programs via an excise tax on the sale of firearms and ammunition.