NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. SECURE GUN STORAGE. A new section is
added to chapter 9.41 RCW to read as follows:
(1) A person who stores or leaves a firearm in a location where
the person knows, or reasonably should know, that a prohibited
person may gain access to the firearm:
(a) Is guilty of community endangerment due to unsafe storage of
a firearm in the first degree if a prohibited person obtains access
and possession of the firearm and causes personal injury or death
with the firearm; or
(b) Is guilty of community endangerment due to unsafe storage of
a firearm in the second degree if a prohibited person obtains access
and possession of the firearm and:
(i) Causes the firearm to discharge;
(ii) Carries, exhibits, or displays the firearm in a public
place in a manner that either manifests an intent to intimidate
another or that warrants alarm for the safety of other persons; or
(iii) Uses the firearm in the commission of a crime.
(2)(a) Community endangerment due to unsafe storage of a firearm
in the first degree is a class C felony punishable according to
chapter 9A.20 RCW.
(b) Community endangerment due to unsafe storage of a firearm in
the second degree is a gross misdemeanor punishable according to
chapter 9A.20 RCW.
(3) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply if:
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(a) The firearm was in secure gun storage, or secured with a
trigger lock or similar device that is designed to prevent the
unauthorized use or discharge of the firearm;
(b) In the case of a person who is a prohibited person on the
basis of the person's age, access to the firearm is with the lawful
permission of the prohibited person's parent or guardian and
supervised by an adult, or is in accordance with RCW 9.41.042;
(c) The prohibited person obtains, or obtains and discharges,
the firearm in a lawful act of self-defense; or
(d) The prohibited person's access to the firearm was obtained
as a result of an unlawful entry, provided that the unauthorized
access or theft of the firearm is reported to a local law
enforcement agency in the jurisdiction in which the unauthorized
access or theft occurred within five days of the time the victim of
the unlawful entry knew or reasonably should have known that the
firearm had been taken.
(4) If a death or serious injury occurs as a result of an
alleged violation of subsection (1)(a) of this section, the
prosecuting attorney may decline to prosecute, even though
technically sufficient evidence to prosecute exists, in situations
where prosecution would serve no public purpose or would defeat the
purpose of the law in question.
(5) For the purposes of this section, "prohibited person" means
a person who is prohibited from possessing a firearm under state or
federal law.
(6) Nothing in this section mandates how or where a firearm must
be stored.
