AN ACT Relating to nonpowder firearms; amending RCW 9.41.010 and 9.41.230; adding a new chapter to Title 9 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. DEFINITIONS. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Air rifle" means any air gun, air pistol, spring gun, spring pistol, B-B gun, pellet gun, or any implement that is not a firearm and that impels a pellet constructed of hard plastic, steel, lead, or other hard materials with a force that reasonably is expected to cause bodily harm.

(2) "Municipalities" include cities, villages, incorporated towns, and townships.

(3) "Dealer" means any person, copartnership, association, or corporation engaged in the business of selling at retail or renting an air rifle.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. SELLING, RENTING, OR TRANSFERRING TO CHILDREN‑-PROHIBITION. (1) It is unlawful for any dealer to sell, lend, rent, give, or otherwise transfer an air rifle to any person under the age of eighteen years where the dealer knows or has cause to believe the person to be under eighteen years of age or where the dealer has failed to make reasonable inquiry relative to the age of the person and the person is under eighteen years of age.

(2) It is unlawful for any person to sell, give, lend, or otherwise transfer any air rifle to any person under eighteen years of age except where the relationship of parent and child, guardian and ward, or adult instructor and pupil, exists between that person and the person under eighteen years of age, or where such person stands in loco parentis to the person under eighteen years of age.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. PROHIBITIONS. (1) Air rifles shall not be marketed, displayed, exhibited, or sold as a toy.

(2) Air rifles that do not meet the requirements of this chapter shall not be marketed, exhibited, or sold.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS‑-INSTRUCTIONS. (1) The following shall be displayed prominently at the point of sale of and be in the operating instructions of air rifles with a .177 caliber and a velocity of less than three hundred fifty feet per second: "Caution -- not a toy, adult supervision required; may cause serious injury, particularly to the eye."

(2) The following shall be displayed prominently at the point of sale of and be in the operating instructions of air rifles with a .177 caliber and a velocity greater than three hundred fifty feet per second: "Caution -- not a toy, adult supervision required; misuse or careless use may cause serious injury or death."

(3) Instructions regarding the safe use of air rifles must be included with air rifles having projectiles of .177 caliber and velocities greater than three hundred fifty feet per second.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. CARRYING OR DISCHARGING ON PUBLIC STREETS. It is unlawful for any person under eighteen years of age to carry an air rifle on the public streets, roads, highways, or public lands within this state, unless the person under eighteen years of age carries the rifle unloaded.

It is unlawful for a person to discharge any air rifle from or across any street, sidewalk, road, highway, or public land, or any public place except on a safely constructed target range.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. PERMISSIVE POSSESSION. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, it is lawful for any person under thirteen years of age to have in his or her possession any air rifle if it is:

(1) Kept within that person's residence or other private enclosure;

(2) Used by a person under thirteen years of age who is a duly enrolled member of any club, team, or society organized for educational purposes that maintains a rifle range as part of its facilities, or who has written permission to use an indoor or outdoor rifle range under the supervision, guidance, and instruction of a responsible adult, and then only if the air rifle is actually being used in connection with the activities of the club, team, or society under the supervision of a responsible adult; or

(3) Used in or on any private grounds or residence under circumstances when the air rifle is fired, discharged, or operated in such a manner as not to endanger persons or property and then only if it is used in such a manner as to prevent the projectile from passing over any grounds or space outside the limits of the grounds or residence and used under adult supervision.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. PERMISSIVE SALES‑-LABELING. (1) This chapter does not prohibit sales of air rifles:

(a) By wholesale dealers or jobbers;

(b) To be shipped out of the state;

(c) To be used at a target range operated in accordance with section 6 of this act or by members of the Armed Services of the United States or veterans' organizations.

(2) Air rifles must be sold with labeling information regarding safe gun use and the caliber of the projectile.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. SEIZURE AND REMOVAL. The state patrol or any sheriff or police officer shall seize, take, remove, or cause to be removed at the expense of the owner, any air rifle sold or used in any manner in violation of this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. PENALTIES. A violation of any provision of this chapter is a gross misdemeanor.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. SECTION HEADINGS NOT PART OF LAW. Section headings as used in this chapter do not constitute any part of the law.

Sec. 11. Section 1, chapter 172, Laws of 1935 as last amended by section 1, chapter 232, Laws of 1983 and RCW 9.41.010 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) "Short firearm" or "pistol" as used in this chapter means any firearm with a barrel less than twelve inches in length.

(2) "Crime of violence" as used in this chapter means:

(a) Any of the following felonies, as now existing or hereafter amended: Any felony defined under any law as a class A felony or an attempt to commit a class A felony, criminal solicitation of or criminal conspiracy to commit a class A felony, manslaughter in the first degree, manslaughter in the second degree, indecent liberties if committed by forcible compulsion, rape in the second degree, kidnapping in the second degree, arson in the second degree, assault in the second degree, extortion in the first degree, burglary in the second degree, and robbery in the second degree;

(b) Any conviction for a felony offense in effect at any time prior to July 1, 1976, which is comparable to a felony classified as a crime of violence in subsection (2) (a) of this section; and

(c) Any federal or out-of-state conviction for an offense comparable to a felony classified as a crime of violence under subsection (2) (a) or (b) of this section.

(3) "Firearm" as used in this chapter means a weapon or device, excluding an air rifle as defined in section 1 of this 1985 act, from which a projectile may be fired by an explosive such as gunpowder.

(4) "Commercial seller" as used in this chapter means a person who has a federal firearms license.

Sec. 12. Sections 2, 3, page 100, Laws of 1888 as amended by section 307, chapter 249, Laws of 1909 and RCW 9.41.230 are each amended to read as follows:

Every person who shall aim any gun, pistol, revolver or other firearm, whether loaded or not, at or towards any human being, or who shall wilfully discharge any firearm, ((~~air gun~~)) or other weapon, or throw any deadly missile in a public place, or in any place where any person might be endangered thereby, although no injury result, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. Sections 1 through 10 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 9 RCW.