EVERETT — A decades-old law prohibiting firearms in Snohomish County parks either needs revamping, or it’s just fine as is.
Snohomish County councilmen have scheduled a hearing Wednesday so the public can weigh in.
Republican Councilman John Koster wants to change the county code so that people with a concealed-weapons permit would be allowed to carry guns onto county park property. Firing guns there for any reason other than self-defense would remain illegal.
Koster calls this a housekeeping move to bring the 1970s-era county law in line with more recent state laws.
“It won’t change how anything functions in parks now,” he said. “People will know no difference.”
His Democratic colleagues on the council, however, say that’s the kind of tidying up the county doesn’t need. To vote on Koster’s proposal, one of the other four councilmen would need to second it. And it’s not clear a “second” will be heard.
“As a public official, I don’t want to be responsible for allowing firearms in a public area where children and families congregate,” Councilman Brian Sullivan said. “I grew up in a gun family. and I believe in gun rights, but that’s to protect your home and property.”
Sullivan worried that because of the proposed legislation, people would bring guns to county parks to try to make an example of the county.
Council Chairman Dave Gossett wasn’t prepared to support the idea either, but said he would keep an open mind when listening to what the public has to say.
“There may be something that I’m not anticipating that may change my mind,” Gossett said. “But at this point, I’m not inclined to support this.”
The county currently bars carrying or discharging crossbows, bow and arrows, airguns, slingshots, fireworks or explosives in county parks, except in designated areas. That wouldn’t change under the proposal.
A state statute on the books since 1983, and strengthened in 1985, made local gun bans unenforceable, according to gun-rights advocates. State Attorney General Rob McKenna has supported this position in a legal opinion.
Washington CeaseFire, a statewide nonprofit that works to reduce gun violence, views bringing guns to parks as inherently dangerous.
“We’re trying to find middle ground here between Second Amendment rights and safety,” said Ralph Fascitelli, the group’s board president. “Do they have to take it into a park where there are kids around, where there is competition that can end up in a heated argument? It’s not only going to be people in the argument who can be hurt, it can be innocent bystanders.”
Seattle imposed a gun ban in its city parks in October. It applies in areas where signs are posted. Former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels pushed for the city’s law after three people were shot by a Snohomish County man during the 2008 Northwest Folklife Festival.
The same month the Seattle ban took effect, the Second Amendment Foundation, the National Rifle Association and five people who use Seattle parks challenged it by filing a lawsuit in King County Superior Court.
The Snohomish County Council public hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday on the eighth floor of the county administration building east.
Noah Haglund: 425-39-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
Public hearing
Snohomish County Council holds a hearing at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday to gather public input on a proposal to change county code to allow firearms in county parks. Location: Robert J. Drewel Building, eighth floor, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett.
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