Councilman Koster Proposes Gun Law for Compliance with State Law

In a motion that would have brought Snohomish County in line with Washington state laws that allow concealed firearms at county parks, the Democrat majority on the County Council refused to give the motion a second.  The county's 1971 law prohibits bringing guns to the county's parks.  But the state passed a law in 1981 that prevented and pre-empted local governments from enacting local gun bans.  Washington State Attorney General, Rob McKenna has weighed in saying that the county law is not in compliance with the state law, which takes precedence.  Councilman Koster sponsored the proposed ordinance as a housekeeping measure to clear up confusion for park rangers and sheriff's deputies.  Koster said he was dismayed that he couldn't get a second for "a law that puts our code in compliance with state law."  The ordinance had a hearing on January 13^th with eleven members of the public speaking on the issue.most spoke in favor of Koster's proposed law.  There has been a lot of interest in the issue and it may come up again.