Fairfax, Va. - Today, the National Rifle Association filed a complaint in the Superior Court of Washington State against the City of Seattle, asking the court to enjoin and declare invalid a recently enacted parks and recreation administrative policy that prohibits firearms in parks, community centers and other city-owned buildings. Other plaintiffs in the case include state correctional officers and private citizens.
“NRA members are outraged that the City of Seattle has ignored and defied state law and an opinion of Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna,” said Chris W. Cox, NRA’s chief lobbyist. “The NRA will continue to fight this senseless infringement on the rights of law-abiding Seattle gun owners.”
The city is in violation of Washington’s preemption statute, which forbids localities from enacting this type of ban. In October 2008, Attorney General Rob McKenna issued an opinion, which put the City of Seattle and Mayor Nickels on further notice that Washington cities may not enact local laws prohibiting possession of firearms on city property or in city-owned facilities.
“Law-abiding Seattle gun owners should be allowed to protect themselves when they go about their business, even in a park or other recreation facility,” concluded Cox. “This illegal ban even prohibits the most law-abiding citizens with Right-to-Carry permits from possession in ‘prohibited’ areas.”
The Second Amendment Foundation, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and the Washington Arms Collectors, Inc. are working in conjunction with the NRA and are co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the city.
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Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen's group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation's leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military.
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