H-4674.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 3102
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State of Washington 55th Legislature 1998 Regular Session
By Representatives Ballasiotes, Costa, Radcliff, Mitchell, Tokuda, Constantine and Ogden
Read first time 02/02/98. Referred to Committee on Criminal Justice & Corrections.
AN ACT Relating to the safe storage of firearms; amending RCW 9A.36.050; and prescribing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 9A.36.050 and 1997 c 338 s 45 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) A person is guilty of reckless endangerment when he or she recklessly engages in conduct not amounting to drive-by shooting but that creates a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury to another person.
(2) With regard to the storage of firearms, a person shall not be charged with or found guilty of reckless endangerment unless all of the following facts are present:
(a) He or she stores a loaded firearm within any premise under his or her custody or control; and
(b) He or she knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of the child's parent or parents or legal guardian; and
(c) The child obtains access to the firearm; and
(d) The child subsequently causes the death of or serious physical injury to himself, herself, or another person.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, a person shall not be charged with or found guilty of reckless endangerment whenever any of the following facts are present:
(a) The child's access to the firearm was supervised by an adult; or
(b) The child obtains the firearm as a result of an unlawful entry by any person; or
(c) The firearm is kept in a locked container or other secure locked storage space or room or in a location or manner which a reasonable person would believe to be secure; or
(d) The firearm is carried on the person or within such a close proximity thereto so that the individual can readily retrieve and use the firearm as if carried on the person; or
(e) The child possesses the firearm in accordance with RCW 9.41.042.
(4) As used in this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) "Loaded firearm" means "loaded" as defined in RCW 9.41.010; and
(b) "Child" is a person under fourteen years of age.
(5) In any alleged violation of subsection (2) of this section, the prosecuting attorney shall consider:
(a) The impact of the serious physical injury or death on the person who allegedly committed the violation; and
(b) Any good faith attempt on the part of the person who allegedly committed the violation to educate the child on the usage, handling, or dangers of a loaded firearm.
(6) If a person who allegedly committed a violation of subsection (2) of this section is an immediate family member of a person seriously physically injured or killed, an arrest may not be made until fourteen days after the serious physical injury or death.
(7) Nothing in this section mandates how or where a firearm must be stored.
(8) Reckless endangerment is a gross misdemeanor.
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