The sheriff of Spokane County, Washington has called Substitute House Bill 1163, a permit-to-purchase gun control measure passed out of committee last week on a party line vote, an “afront to what we as citizens enjoy as God-give rights through our constitution.”
Sheriff John Nowels, in a 13-minute KHQ News interview posted on Facebook, said he believes the legislation “is a clear overstep of government authority.”
In the KHQ story posted on the station’s website, Sheriff Nowels is quoted stating, “This is not going to do anything but make it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to lawfully possess firearms.”
As passed out of committee, the legislation requires would-be gun buyers to show proof of taking a state-approved firearms safety course which includes a live-fire exercise before they could buy a gun. The permit would be issued by the Washington State Patrol. The process would include a background check and fingerprinting, according to the full text of the 39-page Second Substitute bill. If adopted, the law would take effect Nov. 1, 2026.
Also under Section 9 of this bill, the training requirement would also apply to anyone applying for a concealed pistol license. There would be fees for all of these steps over and above the cost of the CPL or the permit.
As noted by the Daily Fly Sheriff Nowels insisted the legislation “punishes lawful gun owners, not criminals who violate the law.” He described HB 1163 as “a direct threat to citizens of the State of Washington who wish to maintain their right to keep and bear arms.”
This is not the first time anti-gun-rights Democrats in Washington state have pushed for a permit-to-purchase. While the gun prohibition lobby contends that permit-to-purchase laws help reduce so-called “gun violence,” their arguments overlook the fact that criminals do not go through regular channels to obtain firearms. Ultimately, the only people affected are law-abiding citizens who don’t commit violent crimes.
As noted in a report on the committee vote, Democrats outnumber Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee:
Do Pass
Signed by Representatives Ormsby, Chair; Gregerson, Vice Chair; Macri, Vice Chair; Berg, Bergquist, Callan, Cortes, Doglio, Fitzgibbon, Leavitt, Lekanoff, Peterson, Pollet, Ryu, Springer, Stonier, Street, Thai, and Tharinger.
Do not pass
Signed by Representatives Couture, Ranking Minority Member; Connors, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Penner, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Schmick, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Burnett, Caldier, Corry, Dye, Keaton, Manjarrez, Marshall, and Rude.
The Center Square is reporting SHB 1163 could go to the House floor for debate, and if it is passed, the measure then goes to the State Senate. As explained by Center Square, “the permit would be valid for five years, similar to the safety courses currently required to purchase a firearm. However, the proposal now requires live-fire training and an annual WSP review to ensure all permit holders “remain eligible to possess firearms.”
The legislation has Evergreen State grassroots activists furious. On the Washington 2025 Legislative Action Group’s Facebook page, gun rights advocate Jane Milhans has posted instructions on how to oppose this measure.
How to get a comment to your Legislators:
- Written comment: Go to the bill page and follow directions below.
Link to the bill:
https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2025-26/Pdf/Bills/House%20Bills/1163-S2.pdf?q=20250303071834
- You can email them directly.
The format is: first name.last name@leg.wa.gov
- You can call the Legislative hotline: 800-562-6000
- You can call your Representatives in the House. How to find their number: https://leg.wa.gov/legislators/
- If you do not know your Legislators, you can get that information here: https://app.leg.wa.gov/districtfinder/
In a message to members and supporters, the Sportsmen’s Alliance declared, “Permit-to-purchase is just another scheme supported by animal extremists and gun-control activists to destroy our rights, values, and lifestyle. Restricting the freedom of peaceable sportsmen will do nothing to solve our public safety problems. Criminals who are the cause of violent crime in the Evergreen State do not purchase their firearms through legal channels. There has never been a more important time in sportsmen’s history than now to be involved and engaged in protecting our way of life.”
Left unsaid seems to be an acknowledgement that the gun control movement has finally caught up to Evergreen State hunters, who may have previously believed gun control wasn’t aimed at their shotguns and hunting rifles.
If the bill becomes law, it is a virtual certainty one or more lawsuits will be filed in state and/or federal court on constitutional grounds.
