Washington
Permanent URL for this collectionhttps://dspace.firearmsresearchcenter.org/id/frc0001/5662
Washington
This jurisdictional hub aggregates FRC holdings related to Washington. It supports research on the state’s firearms history, technology, law, policy, and culture from the territorial period through statehood to the present.
- Legal sources: statutes and session laws, administrative code, attorney general opinions, appellate decisions, and select municipal ordinances.
- Historical materials: newspapers, photographs, maps, catalogs, logging, maritime, and aerospace records, and oral histories tied to Washington people and places.
- Research outputs: technical reports, academic studies, training manuals, and curated datasets relevant to the state.
Cite the Firearms Research Center and the item’s handle/DOI when using materials. Rights and licensing vary by item.
Browse
22 results
Search Results
Item type:Item, Wash. Const. art. 1, § 24(1889)The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the State, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men.Item type:Item, Charter and Ordinances of the City of Olympia: Also General Laws of Washington Territory, Relative to the Government of Incorporated Cities and Towns 90 (1886)(1886)Prohibited storing gunpowder, dynamite, or nitroglycerine within Olympia’s fire limits or within 300 yards of another’s dwelling, subject to a 50-pound gunpowder exception. Violations were misdemeanors punishable by $25–$100 fines.Item type:Item, Charter and Ordinances of the City of Olympia: Also General Laws of Washington Territory, Relative to the Government of Incorporated Cities and Towns 80 (1886)(1886)Section 2 prohibited drawing, exhibiting, or attempting to use a deadly weapon against another person within Olympia; violations carried a $25–$50 fine. Section 3 prohibited carrying a deadly weapon concealed on one’s person within Olympia; violations carried a $5–$10 fine. Section 4 prohibited discharging any gun, pistol, or firearm within a specified area of Olympia; violations were punishable by a $5–$20 fine, 5–10 days’ imprisonment, or both.Item type:Item, An Ordinance Relating to Offenses and Disorderly Conduct, Olympia City Council, Ordinance No. 152, § 5 (Washington, 1882).(1882)No. 152, § 5: That any person or persons who shall fire or explode any fire crackers boom5 torpedoes, or any other explosives within the City of Olympia without first obtaining Permission from the City Council shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than five nor more than twenty-five dollars of or by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten days, or by both such fine and imprisonment Provided that this section shall not apply to using fire works on5 the public squares, The [???]6 and Marshville Bridges and all boats or crafts upon the waters of the sound within the corporate limits of the City..."Item type:Item, 1881 Wash. Sess. Laws 121-22(1881)An Act to Incorporate the City of Port Townsend, ch. 2, § 21: The City of Port Townsend has power to prevent injury or annoyance from anything dangerous, offensive, or unhealthy, and . . . to regulate the transportation and keeping of gunpowder, or other combustibles, and to provide or license magazines for the same[.]Item type:Item, 1883 Wash. Sess. Laws 302, ch. 6, § 29, pt. 15(1883)Authorized City of Snohomish to regulate and prohibit carrying concealed deadly weapons and to prohibit using guns, pistols, firearms, firecrackers, bombs, and explosives.Item type:Item, 1883 Wash. Sess. Laws 139-40(1883)An Act to Incorporate the City of Whatcom, Ch. 2, § 8: The city of Whatcom shall have the power to prevent injury or annoyance from anything dangerous, offensive, or unhealthy . . . to regulate and prohibit the carrying of deadly weapons in a concealed manner; to regulate and prohibit the use of guns, pistols and firearms, fire-crackers, bombs and detonating works of all descriptions[.]Item type:Item, An Ordinance Relating to Offenses and Disorderly Conduct, § 3, Olympia City Council (1882)(1882)Ordinance No. 152, § 3: Any [per]son who shall, in the usual walks of life, within the limits of the City of Olympia carry any deadly weapon concealed about his person, shall be liable to a fine of not more than ten or less than five dollarsItem type:Item, 1888 Wash. Terr. Sess. Laws 100(1888)Act of Jan. 31, 1888, § 1: Every person who shall in a reckless, careless or negligent manner discharge, in the vicinity of an inhabitated dwelling house, or in the streets of an incorporated city, or unincorporated town, any firearm, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding thirty days, or both such fine and imprisonment.Item type:Item, The Revised Statutes and Codes of the State of Washington 1042, § 6354 (Edward D. McLaughlin ed., 1896)(1883)§ 6354: Provided than any person who carried any weapon concealed on their person would be guilty of a misdemeanorItem type:Item, 1881 Wash. Sess. Laws 76, An Act to Confer a City Govt. on New Tacoma, ch. 6, § 34, pt. 15(1881)Authorized New Tacoma to regulate transporting, storing, or selling gunpowder, giant powder, dynamite, nitroglycerine, or other combustibles without a license, as well as the carrying concealed deadly weapons, and the use of guns, pistols, firearms, firecrackers.Item type:Item, An Ordinance Relating to Offenses and Disorderly Conduct, § 2, Olympia City Council (1882)(1882)Ordinance No. 152, § 2: That any persons who shall draw exhibit or attempt to use any deadly weapon within the corporate limits of the City of Olympia, upon, to or against another person, shall be liable to a fine of not more than fifty nor less than twenty-five dollars.Item type:Item, 1885-86 Wash. Terr. Sess. Laws 81-82(1886)Prohibited the concealed carry of any revolver, pistol, or other firearms, or any knife, dirk, dagger, sling shot, metal knuckles, any instrument by the use of which injury could be inflicted upon the person or property of another. Violators guilty of a misdemeanor, fined by not less than twenty but no more than one hundred dollars, or imprisonment not more than thirty days, or both fine and imprisonment.Item type:Item, 1881 Wash. Sess. Laws 93, An Act to Incorporate the City of Dayton, chap. 2, § 20.(1881)The city of Dayton shall have power to prevent injury or annoyance from anything dangerous, offensive, or unhealthy, and . . . to regulate the transportation, storing and keeping of gunpowder and other combustibles and to provide or license magazines for the same[.]Item type:Item, The Revised Statutes and Codes of the State of Washington 1042, § 6353 (Edward D. McLaughlin ed., 1896)(1883)§ 6353: Sale of Toy Pistols to Children, It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to sell or offer for sale, any toy pistols within this state, and every person who shall sell, give, furnish, or cause to be furnished to any person under the age of sixteen years, any pistol, toy pistol or other pocket weapon, in which explosives may be used, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction, shall be fined in any sum not less than five, nor more than twenty-five dollars.Item type:Item, 1888 Wash. Terr. Sess. Laws 100(1888)Act of Jan. 31, 1888, § 2: Every person who shall, in a manner likely to cause terror to the people passing, exhibit or flourish, in the streets of an incorporated city or unincorporated town, any dangerous weapon, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine in any sum not exceeding twenty-five dollars.Item type:Item, An Ordinance Relating to Offenses and Disorderly Conduct, § 4, Olympia City Council (1882)(1882)Ordinance No. 152, § 4: Any person, who shall within the following... [seems to contain a detailed description of local landmarks outlining a specific area]4...fire off or discharge any gun pistol or fire arm of any kind, shall be liable to a fine of not less than five or more than twenty dollars or by imprisonment for not less than five nor more than ten days or by both-such fine or imprisonment.Item type:Item, 1883 Wash. Sess. Laws 161(1883)An Act to Incorporate the City of Ellensburgh, Ch. 2, § 20: The city of Ellensburg shall have power to prevent injury or annoyance from anything dangerous, offensive, or unhealthy . . . to regulate the transportation storing and keeping of gunpowder and other combustibles and to provide or license magazines for the same[.]Item type:Item, 1881 Wash. Code 181(1881)Criminal Procedure, Offenses Against Public Policy, Ch. 73, § 929: Prohibited the carrying of "any concealed weapon." Punishable by fine up to $100 or imprisonment up to 30 days.Item type:Item, William Lair Hill, Ballinger's Annotated Codes and Statutes of Washington, Showing All Statutes in Force, Including the Session Laws of 1897, at 1956 (Vol. 2, 1897)(1881)Prohibited exhibiting a dangerous weapon in a manner likely to cause terror. Punishable by fine up to $25.Item type:Item, 2 Ballinger’s Annotated Codes and Statutes of Washington 1956 (1897)(1881)§ 7082: Prohibited exhibiting a dangerous weapon in a manner likely to cause terror. Punishable by fine up to $25.Item type:Item, 1883 Wash. Sess. Laws 102 An Act for the Protection of Fish and Game, § 12.(1883)Every person who shall use any sink box on any lake or river, or other waters in Washington Territory, for the purpose of shooting ducks or geese or other water fowls therefrom, or who shall use any batteries or swivel or pivot gun on boats, canvas, rafts or other device at any time, for the purpose of killing any water fowl within the limits of Washington Territory, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.