King County passes law requiring gun stores to post warning signs

The King County Board of Health passed legislation requiring stores that sell firearms and firing ranges to post signs warning customers of the various dangers posed by gun violence.

RELATED: King County Council approves Gun Safety Action Plan

The law was passed unanimously, and will require gun stores and ranges to post signs warning of the risks of suicide, fatal acts of domestic violence, and unintentional deaths to children as they relate to gun ownership.

The signs will also carry contact information for Crisis Connections, one of the longest standing crisis lines in the country.

Coupled with the recent passage of I-1639, Washington state, and to an even greater extent, King County, has suddenly become ground zero for sweeping, comprehensive gun control across the board.

“We need to be open and honest about the harm that guns can cause,” said King County Councilmember Joe McDemott in a news release. “This means acknowledging there is risk in owning a gun, often for the people who live in the home that gun is intended to protect.”

McDermott proposed the law over the summer, with the hope that it would assist those in crisis situations.

“The goal of this law is to ensure people are aware of the risk and those who may find themselves in a crisis can quickly find help they need so that it doesn’t end in harm and tragedy for themselves or others,” he said.

This legislation was the final piece of a sweeping selection of gun control measures passed by King County Council, known as its “Gun Safety Action Plan.” Other measures previously passed include a law requiring gun owners to safely store all firearms, a “youth-led report on reducing gun violence,” mandating that the sheriff’s office destroy all forfeited weapons, and the formation of a task force to identify other gun violence prevention strategies.

King County’s law requiring warning signs in gun stores will go into effect 30 days after it’s signed by the Board of Health’s chairperson.

RELATED: Seattle defines what ‘safe gun storage’ means under new rules

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