Juvenile gun laws under fire: King County Prosecutor calls for early intervention

King County Prosecutor Leesa Manion believes Washington’s juvenile gun laws are dangerously lenient.

Manion explained to “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio Thursday that under current Washington law, a young person is not offered meaningful service at juvenile rehabilitation until the fifth conviction of unlawfully carrying a firearm.

“I think that is too long,” she said.

House Bill 1536 seeks to increase early intervention for minors who unlawfully possess guns.

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“I think that we all collectively understand that juveniles are different and think differently than adults,” Manion said. “I think we all collectively believe that there is a great opportunity to rehabilitate a young person and that we also know a lot more about adolescent brain development, or juvenile development, that they are ripe for rehabilitation. So I think that there are a lot of really good intentions in giving young people more than one opportunity.”

However, Manion said, carrying a firearm is a “really dangerous behavior.”

“We know that young people are highly susceptible to peer pressure and that it is unlawful for them to carry a gun, whether it is at home or at school or in a car,” she said. “This is very serious behavior, and collectively, we should all be concerned the first time a young person is caught carrying a gun.”

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King County Prosecutor believes leaders can do better

Manion believes Washington leaders can take further steps to stop crime.

“I think juvenile gun crime is heartbreaking, and I am a caring individual, but I’m also a smart individual, and I think that we can do better,” she said. “I think that it is not unimaginable to imagine what we could do if we intervened sooner, if we got people help, if we said, ‘This is not OK,’ I think we could prevent future harm.”

To listen to the full conversation regarding juvenile crime, click the player below:

Contributing: Matt Markovich, KIRO Newsradio

Listen to John Curley on “The John Curley Show” weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

Julia Dallas is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read her stories here. Follow Julia on X here and email her here.