State of Washington Democrats propose “overreaching” bill prohibiting self-defense weapons in public areas such as bus stops

Crime rates in Washington have been soaring and the state Democrats’ solution to this problem is to strip away the rights of citizens to bear arms and prohibit them from performing self-defense in times of danger.

Senate Bill (SB) 5444, the bill concerning firearms in “sensitive places” that is sponsored by Washington State Senators Javier Valdez, Sam Hunt, Patty Kuderer, Joe Nguyen, Jamie Pedersen and Rebecca Saldaña, was first read in January 2023 and reintroduced back on Jan. 8.  As of Jan. 19, the proposed legislation has already been passed by the Senate Law and Justice Committee and referred to the Ways and Means Committee.

Valdez said that he introduced the bill because he wanted to continue the work in the legislature to keep communities as safe as possible and to reduce gun violence. “We’ve made progress over the years such as prohibiting weapons in schools, government buildings, airports, polling locations, [and] courthouses, but we know we have so much work to do,” Valdez told committee members. “Our public needs to know that we are taking every step we can to keep them safe from gun violence.”

The current law prohibits weapons in courtrooms, bars and other restricted areas. Now the bill adds several new categories of prohibited areas, such as public libraries, zoos, aquariums, parks, community centers and other public buildings. It also now aims to prohibit full-time mass transit users from carrying weapons, including legally purchased guns and knives.

According to renowned radio show host Jason Rantz, “SB 5444 isn’t just an overreach; it’s a direct attack on law-abiding citizens. And it disproportionately affects those demographics the Democrats always claim to champion. The irony is as thick as it is infuriating.” Rantz further noted that Seattle mass transit is unsafe and soft-on-crime policies Democrats want to eliminate ‘’reasonable means of defending ourselves.” It is such a wonder why these lawmakers routinely push legislation that makes it easier for criminals to suffer fewer consequences for their crimes. He added that western Washington saw a spate of high-profile violent crimes in 2023. Many of these occurred in places provided in the bill, robbing citizens of the ability to match force with assailants. (Related: NRA warns of ATF’s gun control proposal, which unjustly criminalizes those selling firearms to family members or friends.)

Sound Transit’s light rail is dangerous to ride. Here, a prolific offender is accused of randomly stabbing a stranger in Seattle. The transit riders come to the man’s rescue, risking injury to death in doing so. They’re heroes. pic.twitter.com/2fgVVXcBSF

— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) August 6, 2023

Rants also reported on My Northwest that a homeless man was charged in the hammer attack against two random victims in their 60s back in September at a Sound Transit station. In another unprovoked July incident, a man stabbed a passenger 18 times at the light-rail train near Othello Station. A Sound Transit station in SODO in July also featured an attack when a man was bludgeoned in the head with a rock. And in a November stabbing at the Northgate station, a man was critically wounded. These, and many other attacks, prompted Sound T