Heads up potential Seattle visitors! Last week the "May Day Zone" became weapons banned & confiscation, authorized by the mayor's emergency powers executive order.  Makes you wonder -- what would happen in  a real and protracted emergency  Like Hurricane Katrina? Or an eruption in the Ring of Fire?)

Anyway, article from the local news today:

Peaceful protesters said violence perpetrated by a select few wrecked their message a week ago on May Day, but the ...

http://cdn.localwireless.com/wap/news/text.jsp?sid=26&nid=529401638&cid=21216&scid=-1

You may have heard about the Seattle "May Day Protests" and the "Black Bloc" of self-proclaimed anarchists causing mayhem and destruction.

You may have even heard that Mayor McGinn banned "weapons" that included sticks, rocks, flag poles, etc. But, what you may not have known is that he actually banned *all* weapons and the police were allowed to confiscate them.

Am I being alarmist? Maybe not when you consider that this is a Mayor that attempted to uphold former Mayor Nichols' illegal firearms ban -- despite being told by the Attorney General that is was illegal, ruled against in court, ruled against in Appeals, and then finally ruled against by State Supreme Court! See a trend here? What was the order called?

ORDER AUTHORIZING THE CONFISCATION OF WEAPONS

Now, I know of no instance where there was a problem for a legal CCW holder (a valid reason why the framers of our 70s CCW laws made it CONCEALED carry) but the order is written vaguely enough to cover licensed CCW holders.

To the Mayor's credit the order did not apply to lawfully kept weapons in place of business or residence. HOWEVER, legal CCWers should have been exempted also!  Walking to your car or driving home could have put you in violation of the law in which your firearm would be potentially confiscated and you would face a $500 if convicted.

You might be wondering how this order is legal? Well, actually it appears that under  RCW38.52 it is:

RCW 38.52.020: (b) To confer upon the governor and upon the executive heads of the political subdivisions of the state the emergency powers provided herein;

and

RCW 38.52.070: (2) In carrying out the provisions of this chapter each political subdivision, in which any disaster as described in RCW 38.52.020 occurs, shall have the power to enter into contracts and incur obligations necessary to combat such disaster, protecting the health and safety of persons and property, and providing emergency assistance to the victims of such disaster. Each political subdivision is authorized to exercise the powers vested under this section in the light of the exigencies of an extreme emergency situation without regard to time-consuming procedures and formalities prescribed by law

Now the interesting thing is that even under Emergency Powers heads of political subdivisions are still answerable to the Governor.  This explains why the ORDER AUTHORIZING THE CONFISCATION OF WEAPONS mentions that a copy was sent to the Governor and King Co. Executive.

The order was written to expire in 48 hours or earlier. True to his word the Mayor did rescind it today.

I include copies of the orders here since these things tend to disappear after time and memory.

120501PR-proclamationConfiscation

120501PR-civilOrderConfiscation

120502PR-proclamationConfiscationTermination

This is  a complete tragedy: Ranger Fatally Shot at Mt Rainier.
1/2/12 update: Law enforcement did a good job protecting the visitors and campers, although I still would be concerned about visitors  out there not necessarily in concentrated areas or numbers. Despite the 100+ LEO's out there they were still at severe risk. I don't there is much doubt they would be dead if they had run into the assailant.

As someone who regularly camps at Skate Creek (just outside Rainier National Park) it is a reminder of why I carry a firearm when out there.

Remember all the rhetoric about how the Rangers would keep you safe? Best intentions aside, when someone is bent on hurting others they will find a way, regardless of laws.

Officials were so concerned about the safety of the Park Visitors that they actually would not let them leave because they were afraid for their safety while LEAVING.

What about the folks in the campground, the people hiking, the people outside of the Park's boundary?

That could have been me, or my friends and family.  That's why we camp armed.

Good grief. The city of Seattle is now requesting that the state Supreme Court review if the the state's firearm preemption (RCW 9.41.290) makes city government ineffective to protect citizens.

Gee..if that's the case then really state law can just be disregarded. Oh wait..that's what the city of Seattle does anyway. They knew their handgun ban was illegal when they first passed it. The former mayor is gone, but apparently the current administration is no different. Ironic that citizens are supposed to obey the law, while the city itself won't.

"The state of Washington hereby fully occupies and preempts the entire field of firearms regulation within the boundaries of the state, including the registration, licensing, possession, purchase, sale, acquisition, transfer, discharge, and transportation of firearms, or any other element relating to firearms or parts thereof, including ammunition and reloader components. Cities, towns, and counties or other municipalities may enact only those laws and ordinances relating to firearms that are specifically authorized by state law, as in RCW 9.41.300, and are consistent with this chapter. Such local ordinances shall have the same penalty as provided for by state law. Local laws and ordinances that are inconsistent with, more restrictive than, or exceed the requirements of state law shall not be enacted and are preempted and repealed, regardless of the nature of the code, charter, or home rule status of such city, town, county, or municipality."

You tell me what is unclear about this?

Article: Seattle asks state Supreme Court to allow gun ban