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It is estimated that Washington State has about a million gun owners. The landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court last week will not likely have a negative effect on any of our state laws. Attorney General Rob McKenna says a review of existing laws found nothing that appears to be in conflict with the Supreme Court’s ruling.

What could see an impact is a pending ban on handguns in buildings, parks and community centers in the City of Seattle. Just last month, Mayor Greg Nickels signed an executive order authorizing the ban to become effective in July. Second Amendment protest groups say the Supreme Court ruling nullifies such a ban, and Seattle’s must be withdrawn. Nickels won’t do that. He interprets the High Court ruling as saying a jurisdiction cannot totally ban handguns, but the justices recognized there is a need for common-sense gun laws. Nickels says that means Seattle has the ability to enact reasonable restrictions on guns in public property, and his executive order is reasonable.

While Nickels intends to stick to his guns, (pun intended), firearms advocates are ready to take him on. The U.S. Supreme Court ruling offered no legal test formula to determine what is reasonable.

Indeed the majority opinion left open and unanswered, a number of specific applications that doubtless, will now have to be litigated one at a time as the practicalities and legalities are explored. This process could of course, take many years, and many lawsuits. Litigation over unclear aspects of Constitutional law is the method by which our Constitution is ultimately interpreted. Tough it was passed in 1791, the long and tedious exploration of the Second Amendment has only just begun.

With commentary on 920-KXLY, I’m Mike Fitzsimmons

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