=============== Proposed amendment to RCW 9.41.050 =============== See http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9.41.050 Contact: John Hardin Permanent copy: http://www.impsec.org/~jhardin/wa_gun_laws_car.txt $Id: wa_gun_laws_car.txt,v 1.15 2010-09-18 11:51:03-07 jhardin Exp jhardin $ --------------------- RCW 9.41.050 shall be amended by adding the following sections: (5)(a) All employers, including State, County and Municipal agencies and divisions, Universities and Colleges, are prohibited from reprimanding, disciplining, discriminating against or terminating the employment of any employee or contractor for, or adopting employment policies prohibiting, possession or storage of a loaded pistol within a vehicle in compliance with section (2)(a), regardless of whether the vehicle is on the employer's property, if the vehicle is (i) the employee's property, or (ii) not the employee's or employer's property but is being lawfully used by the employee, or (iii) the employer's property or leased by the employer, and is (a) specifically assigned to that employee for his or her use, and (b) used by that employee to travel between the employee's place of abode and place of employment, and (c) not a school bus. (5)(b) All employers, including State, County and Municipal agencies and divisions, Universities and Colleges, are prohibited from reprimanding, disciplining, discriminating against or terminating the employment of any employee or contrator for, or adopting employment policies prohibiting, possession or storage of an unloaded pistol within a vehicle in compliance with section (3)(a), regardless of whether the vehicle is on the employer's property, if the vehicle is (i) the employee's property, or (ii) not the employee's or employer's property but is being lawfully used by the employee, or (iii) the employer's property or leased by the employer, and is (a) specifically assigned to that employee for his or her use, and (b) used by that employee to travel between the employee's place of abode and place of employment, and (c) not a school bus. (5)(c) No employer shall be held liable in any civil action for damages resulting from or arising out of an occurrence involving the transportation, storage, possession, or use of a firearm by an employee or contractor pursuant to this Code section. --------------------- Rationale: An employer's property rights permit the employer to restrict possession of firearms by employees while they are on the employer's property, including the parking lot of an employer's facility if the employer owns the parking lot. A citizen's property rights permit the citizen to do anything lawful while on his or her property; his or her property includes the space within any vehicle that the citizen owns. This leads to an apparent conflict of rights when an employee's property (his or her vehicle) is on the employer's property. This amendment is to clarify that the employer's property rights do not supersede the employee's property rights within the bounds of the employee's vehicle. This amendment is also to clarify that the employer does not have the power to infringe upon the employee's right to engage in lawful activity while the employee is within the boundaries of the employee's own property (i.e. within the employee's own vehicle). Furthermore, this amendment is to clarify that the employer's property rights do not grant the employer the right to restrict the employee's lawful behavior while the employee is not on the employer's property, for example by effectively prohibiting the employee from carrying a lawfully possessed firearm while commuting to and from work due to the employee being prevented from storing the firearm in a safe and lawful manner while at work without risking disciplinary action by the employer. This amendment does not restrict the employer's right to prohibit employees from possessing firearms while on the employer's property when the employee is not within his or her own vehicle, and does not prohibit an employer from disciplining employees for possession of firearms against the employer's posted policy when the employee is on the employer's property but not within the employee's own vehicle. This amendment also allows an employee to safely and lawfully store a firearm in a vehicle that they do not own but are using with the permission of the owner, for example a borrowed or rented car or auto shop loaner, without fear for their job. Notes: (1) Less than 10% of workplace shootings are committed by employees [US DoL 2004]. This means that more than 90% of workplace shootings are committed by non-employees, persons who are not restricted by workplace employment policies. Prohibitions of employees' ability to defend themselves using lawfully possessed firearms exacerbate greater than 90% of the problem in an attempt to reduce less than 10% of the problem.