Gun owners could be charged with felonies if firearm gets stolen under new proposed bill

A new bill aimed at curbing rising gun thefts throughout the state has been drawn up for lawmakers to mull and debate in the Washington Legislature.

House Bill 1152 proposes specific requirements for storing a legally owned firearm for gun owners (they would have to store their firearms in a hard case or lock the trigger in a soft case) and significant penalties if the gun is stolen. The owner of a gun that becomes stolen could face a $1,000 fine, and if the thief who stole the firearm is someone who legally cannot own a gun and commits a violent crime with said gun, the gun owner could be charged with a separate felony.

“Here’s how it works. For example, in your vehicle, if you have to have the pistol, it has to be stored and unloaded in a container that’s opaque, locked, hard-sided and fixed to the vehicle. It has to be concealed and your vehicle has to be locked. If it’s a rifle or a shotgun, it needs to be stored in a soft-sided case and have a trigger lock,” Andrew Lanier, producer of “The Gee and Ursula Show,” said on the show. “Now, if that gun is stolen, you can be liable for a fine of up to $1,000 if it is not secured. If someone steals that gun, it is a misdemeanor.

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“If someone who’s not allowed to own a gun, say, a felon or a minor, steals it and gets possession, it is a gross misdemeanor,” Lanier continued in his explanation of the proposed bill. “If someone not allowed to have a gun gets your gun and commits a crime with it, say, for example, someone holds up to 7-Eleven, now it becomes a felony if your stolen gun that was unsecured was used in a crime that hurts someone else. And I need to point out a Class C felony is up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. I don’t think you would get that much, but it would also mean that you’re a felon and no longer allowed to own a gun.”

HB 1152 has 34 sponsors while others have deemed it too extreme.

“If they’ve had property stolen from them, they’re the victim of a crime. They shouldn’t be charged for that purpose,” Jeremy Ball, owner of Sharp Shooting Indoor Range in Spokane, told KNDO. “It’s a lazy approach to solving a complicated problem.”

According to the Alliance for Gun Responsibility, 4,074 firearms are stolen in Washington each year, based on data from 2017-2021, with the organization acknowledging the number could be significantly higher as many stolen firearms go unreported.

“I’m in favor,” Gee Scott, co-host of “The Gee and Ursula Show,” said. “I’d go out on a limb to say that most gun owners are responsible. However, we do have some irresponsible gun owners leaving guns in cars and leaving them unlocked around the house. All that stuff is leading to stolen guns and, oh, guess what? Some of these stolen guns are used in violent crimes. So, I am continuing to say that we’re going to have to do some drastic things to decrease our gun shootings and violent crime. And if we’re going to do that, this is a nice place to start. I’m for it.”

Previous bills have been installed in the state to help with this rising issue, including now-former Washington Governor Jay Inslee signing a bill into law last year that requires gun owners to notify the police of a stolen firearm within 24 hours of when they discover the theft or loss.

“One of the arguments against this would be we are making them a criminal when they’re actually a victim of a crime,” Ursula Reutin, co-host of “The Gee and Ursula Show,” said. “But if you are going to have a gun, you have responsibilities that go with it.”

“I’ll make a deal,” Gee responded. “How about this? You can face a Class C felony, or you can settle by losing your gun license forever.”

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Lanier brought up a news story from October where car prowlers stole dozens of guns from approximately 50 parked cars in a Safeway distribution center in Renton. 86% of all stolen guns from Renton last year were taken from cars. Around 49 guns were left unsecured in a car, with 39 of those stolen during a car prowl.

On average, at least one gun is stolen from a car every nine minutes in the U.S., according to Every Town Research.

“Do you believe that someone who leaves out their fentanyl and their toddler overdoses and dies should face punishment?” Lanier asked both Gee and Ursula. “Because what you are doing is the equivalent. You’re leaving out a lethal weapon that can be used over and over and over again in crimes. I’m fully for it. I know there are a lot of people on the text line who are going to be furious with me, but I think we need to have this conversation at the very least.”

The Washington State Legislature officially kicked off the 2025 session this past Monday.

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest and producer of the Seattle Seahawks podcast, The Reset with Gee Scott. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.

Listen to “The Gee and Ursula Show“ weekday mornings from 9 a.m.- noon on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.