Rantz: Mayor Durkan announced gun storage law without any enforcement plan

Seattle’s new gun storage legislation, now in effect, was pitched as a way to keep guns out of the hands of bad guys and make us safer. Only, Mayor Jenny Durkan has absolutely no plan on how Seattle police will enforce it.

Not to mention, the only way it can make people safer is if it’s proactively enforced. Short of going door-to-door, there will be few opportunities for cops to do that.

In a press release short on details, heavy on aspirational quotes and not-very-subtle attacks on the NRA, Durkan announced this ordinance will categorically “reduce gun violence” and force gun owners into responsibly storing their firearms.

“Unsecured, unsafely stored firearms are more likely to be stolen, used in a suicide, accessed by children and teens, and result in tragic accidents,” said Mayor Durkan. “Responsible storage is a commonsense way to keep guns from falling into the wrong hands.”

Despite passing this ordinance in July of last year, the Seattle Police Department hasn’t even finished, let alone implemented, a policy for officers to enforce the law, according to a statement from the SPD to the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.

Mayor Durkan’s office ignored repeated requests for an interview with the mayor or another city staffer.

“The department is currently finalizing its policy and protocols related to the Safe Storage ordinance to train all officers especially as it relates to both the Safe Storage Ordinance and the recently passed I-1639,” the statement reads in part.

Indeed, multiple officers told me they haven’t been told how to enforce this ordinance. And the policy they’re working on doesn’t appear to be especially proactive. In order to keep guns properly stored, they’d have to do searches of homes. They’re obviously not doing that.

The SPD notes that gun owners could be hit with a civil penalty if the officer witnesses unsafe storage or “if an officer has probable cause to believe that a person has committed an infraction.”

The statement also notes that “SPD and the City Attorney’s Office will be tracking any violations that may occur if a prohibited person, an at-risk person, or a minor obtains a firearm and uses it to injure or cause the death of oneself or others, or uses the firearm in connection with a crime.”

In other words, much of the enforcement can only happen after the fact, which means it won’t actually make people safer. I suppose she can make an argument that the penalties will be a disincentive, but the cops I speak to believe the majority of people violating this law are are already criminals, so they’re unlikely to care about a new law.

Here is the full statement from the SPD:

As the Mayor and the Police Chief have stated, the goal of the Safe Storage is to ensure more people lock up their weapons. As stated in the Ordinance, the notice of civil penalties can occur if an infraction under this Chapter 10.79 is committed in the officer’s presence or if an officer has probable cause to believe that a person has committed an infraction under this Chapter 10.79 or he City Attorney’s Office may issue a notice of infraction upon receipt of a written statement of the officer that there is probable cause to believe that an infraction was committed. The department is currently finalizing its policy and protocols related to the Safe Storage ordinance to train all officers especially as it relates to both the Safe Storage Ordinance and the recently passed I-639, but SPD and the City Attorney’s Office will be tracking any violations that may occur if a prohibited person, an at-risk person, or a minor obtains a firearm and uses it to injure or cause the death of oneself or others, or uses the firearm in connection with a crime.

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