A bill sponsored by state Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, allowing firearm transfers to museums was signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday.
The legislation, Senate Bill 5436, exempts museums and historical societies from criminal background check requirements when firearms are loaned, gifted or purchased. According to a statement Wilson released later that day, SB 5436 “clears up a hitch” in Washington’s firearms-transfer law, which was approved by voters through a ballot initiative in 2014. With few exceptions, transfers are supposed to go through dealers who perform criminal background checks. However, the law presented an issue for museums as only humans can have their criminal histories checked.
“Believe it or not, this issue has stumped Washington for years,” Wilson said. “For purposes of criminal background checks, museums are not considered people. Because no background check can be done, museums haven’t been able to accept privately owned firearms as gifts, loans or purchases. This becomes a problem when a museum is trying to put together an exhibit about the Civil War, the Second World War or the taming of the West.”
Wilson said guns are part of the history of the United States, arguing it’s not possible to tell the country’s history without discussing guns.
“This year the Legislature passed a number of highly controversial bills designed to weaken Second Amendment rights, and I would not be surprised to see this legal battle go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. But in this small area, Republicans were able to find common ground with Democrats. We might have different reasons, but I think all of us would agree that guns belong in museums,” Wilson said.
SB 5436 was passed unanimously by both the state Senate and state House.
Other bills sponsored by Wilson that have been signed into law this year are SB 5023, which seeks to improve tow-truck safety at highway accident scenes by permitting rear-facing blue flashers; SB 5287, which encourages wind turbine recycling; and SB 5542, which seeks to combat vandalism against electric vehicle charging equipment by making charger components a matter of special scrutiny for scrap metal dealers and recyclers.
