Washington Appeals Court Unanimously Strikes Down Local Gun-Control Law

A Washington appeals court struck down an onerous local gun storage ordinance in a victory for Second Amendment activists, who pushed a state law designed to stop strict gun laws from popping up in liberal localities. 

The Court of Appeals for the State of Washington unanimously ruled Edmonds, Washington, violated state law when it instituted rules for how people must store firearms inside their own homes. The ordinance conflicts with a law that blocks localities from making their own gun regulations. Second Amendment activists advanced so-called state preemption laws to protect gun owners from having to navigate a patchwork of local regulations. Gun-control activists have objected to such laws as being too restrictive on local authority.

The Second Amendment Foundation and National Rifle Association, which jointly filed the suit against the ordinance, cheered the ruling.  
"Today's ruling is an important victory for the people of Washington," Lars Dalseide, NRA Washington state spokesman, said in a statement.