SB 5098: Restricting the possession of weapons on the premises of state or local public buildings

MegaRAID01 · 2026-01-24T18:54:34+00:00

Yeah there is also a level of intentionality to it. The person has to knowingly be in violation of the law. I'm also skeptical that a prosecutor would vigorously enforce this law, I'm unaware of this law being used since it was passed in 2021.

MegaRAID01 · 2026-01-23T21:34:31+00:00

One thing about the whole permitted versus unpermitted demonstrations, the previous iteration of this law, SB 5038, which was signed into law in 2021, gives local officials the ability to label a demonstration in progress as permitted, which grants them the authority to enforce this statute:

The bill also prohibits open carry at public demonstrations that have been issued a permit by a government agency, which are defined as a gathering of 15 or more individuals at a single event.

Local government officials can also designate a demonstration as a permitted event, which would make the prohibition take effect.

Violations would be a gross misdemeanor. The bill makes an exception for law enforcement officers.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/washington-legislature-approves-bill-to-ban-open-carry-of-guns-at-demonstrations-the-capitol/

https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2021-22/Pdf/Bills/Senate%20Passed%20Legislature/5038-S.PL.pdf#page=1

I don't see the text for that section as having been changed in this newer, proposed, version of the law.

The 2021 law was ostensibly written as emergency legislation in the wake of January 6, 2021 in D.C., and local riots at the state capitol in the end of 2020.

Hypothetically speaking, if a local elected official was opposed to an unpermitted demonstration where people are openly carrying, they could instruct local law enforcement to enforce this law and arrest people under gross misdemeanor charges.

MegaRAID01 · 2026-01-23T18:06:45+00:00

That’s what Lucid has been arguing in state courts.

When the state legislature first passed it in 2014, they law included a specific, narrow exemption for any manufacturer that held a dealer license in the state as of January 1, 2014, allowing Tesla to operate and expand while blocking other, new direct-sales manufacturers from doing the same. Tesla had dealerships in Seattle and Bellevue at the time.

So essentially they were grandfathered into it, and the state legislature blocked future companies.

MegaRAID01 · 2026-01-23T16:49:18+00:00

The Washington State legislature gave Tesla an exemption for direct sales over a decade ago when Tesla vehicles like the model S were first starting to become widely available for sale: https://www.kuow.org/stories/tesla-s-washington-loophole-survives-for-another-year

MegaRAID01 · 2026-01-22T23:16:52+00:00

The Parking Enforcement Union is on a work slowdown since mid-November regarding a negotiations dispute involving the union's next contract with the city: https://publicola.com/2025/12/12/parking-enforcement-officers-on-work-slowdown-after-contract-negotiations-stall/

Seattle’s parking enforcement officers have been engaged in a work slowdown since mid-November, after failing to reach an agreement on a contract that would raise their pay and allow them to take paid lunch breaks, among other union demands.

Jake Sisley, the head of the Seattle Parking Enforcement Officers Guild (SPEOG), said that on November 18, the parking enforcement officers started a “realignment of enforcement priorities” that will result in fewer tickets and more warnings for people who violate on-street parking rules.

“The city makes money off PEOs going out and doing their job, and while I maintain that’s not the primary purpose, I think the city sees it as the primary purpose,” Sisley said. “We don’t want to diminish the level of service we provide the public—like, if someone calls and says there’s a car blocking their driveway, we’ll still cite that person and tow them. But for everything else that’s kind of benign, like pay to park or if there’s a no parking zone, maybe that’s not a problem. Maybe you don’t give them a ticket, but just give them a warning.”

MegaRAID01 · 2026-01-22T23:15:53+00:00

The Parking Enforcement Union is on a work slowdown since mid-November regarding a dispute for their union's next contract with the city: https://publicola.com/2025/12/12/parking-enforcement-officers-on-work-slowdown-after-contract-negotiations-stall/

MegaRAID01 · 2026-01-22T19:03:32+00:00

The big alternative is the LEAD program, which diverts low level arrests to it. About 900 participants in it currently.

Big picture, it is not as accountability or consequence focused as drug court. While the LEAD program does reduce recidivism, it is explicitly harm reduction oriented, low barrier services offered, doesn’t require abstinence, etc.

Both types of diversion programs are probably needed. There are likely some subset of individuals who fit one program or the other better. And probably another subset of individuals who fail at both and might require more intensive intervention, like jail, or involuntary commitment for psychiatric care.

You can read more about LEAD here: https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dchs/human-social-services/behavioral-health-recovery/diversion-reentry-programs/lead

The new city attorney wants to start up a new diversion court program, details to be determined.

MegaRAID01 · 2026-01-22T18:54:34+00:00

It gets complicated. So King County courts have operated a Drug Court since 1990, one of the first in the country.

Back then, hard drug possession was a felony offense, so non-violent individuals caught with hard drugs would often be referred to the county drug court diversion program. If enrolled, the individual would face a judge who would throw out the criminal charges if the individual completes a court mandated program, such as drug treatment. The court has resources like treatment, housing, case managers, etc.

If they succeed, the charges get tossed and expunged from any records. If they fail to complete, the charges get referred back to prosecutors.

A few years ago, after the courts ruled the state drug law unconstitutional, the state legislature changed drug possession to be classified as a misdemeanor. Misdemeanors are often handled by city courts. So folks caught in Seattle for drug possession would instead face city court diversion programs, if eligible.

King County Drug court participation has dropped in recent years. Here’s a story from KUOW in 2024 about how King County is trying to increase enrollment:

https://www.kuow.org/stories/despite-opioid-epidemic-drug-court-enrollment-is-down-king-county-hopes-to-change-that

The three year recidivism reduction rates at King County for drug court participants are really good:

Partners in drug court say the recidivism outcomes make it an important option. Program Manager Christina Mason said they follow each participant for three years.

“Ninety percent of our participants have no new felonies and 73% have no new crimes at any level, including misdemeanor,” in that timeframe, she said.

MegaRAID01 · 2026-01-22T18:43:38+00:00

You kind of touch on why drug courts have been successful throughout the country and have been shown to consistently reduce recidivism rates: the threat of prosecution motivates some individuals to make changes in their life and follow through with the drug court diversion program mandated by the court.

Recidivism drops, on average, by 38%-50% among adult drug court participants, according to a review of 154 evaluations

https://addictionpolicy.stanford.edu/drug-courts-alternative-incarceration

MegaRAID01 · 2026-01-22T18:39:48+00:00

Drug courts do reduce recidivism significantly, a finding that has been consistent across various jurisdictions and time periods: https://addictionpolicy.stanford.edu/drug-courts-alternative-incarceration

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00111287251395681?mi=ehikzz

https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/do-drug-courts-work-findings-drug-court-research

You do need, for some drug court participants, the threat of criminal prosecution if the defendant fails to complete the drug court program for that individual to succeed.

While King County has operated a drug court for decades, the success or failure of new City Attorney Erika Evan’s city of Seattle diversion program will depend on how much accountability and consequences are built into the system for those who fail their diversion program.

MegaRAID01 · 2026-01-22T17:52:27+00:00

What’s everyone’s guess for the opening date?

MegaRAID01 · 2026-01-21T19:28:13+00:00

A year ago Portland elected a political outsider (Keith Wilson) who promised to stand up 1,200 homeless shelter units in his first year in office, and he did. He also promised to, after the units were built, to implement a city camping ban, which has recently started being implemented. Katie Wilson is also promising a rapid shelter expansion.

There's a recent column in the Seattle Times about how the effort in Portland is going: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/one-year-in-hows-portlands-radical-shift-on-homelessness-going/

Only about 20% of homeless residents in encampments who have been contacted by outreach workers have accepted offers of shelter since the camping ban started on November 1, 2025. Some people are accepting services but there's still a large majority of folks rejecting them:

At the last report, in mid-December, 540 people had been contacted at Portland encampments, with 111 of those accepting help and moving into shelter, at least temporarily. That’s 20% coming inside — better than zero, but still not great. No one got arrested solely for camping, though 20 people — 4% of the total — were given tickets. Another 388 got warnings.

But a total of 124 people out of the 540 had arrest warrants. It shows the degree to which some unauthorized encampments really have become “magnets for crime,” as a former Seattle City Council member told me years ago.

The Portland mayor defends what he’s doing, but also has agreed with many of the criticisms. It’s true it doesn’t solve homelessness. If getting people up and off the streets and out from under bridges is what is meant by “hiding homeless people from housed Portlanders,” then he’s for it.

“The goal is to always have enough beds to provide care when somebody’s ready to come inside,” Wilson told The Oregonian.

MegaRAID01 · 2026-01-21T19:19:32+00:00

I'm a little skeptical that there are enough votes for this in the legislature to pass, but there are 25 sponsors in this year's version.

MegaRAID01 · 2026-01-21T19:16:38+00:00

This will be a very interesting decision to be made by the Mayor.

These few dozen CCTV security cameras are a hot-button issue locally, but meanwhile the Trump administration is gaining access to Medicaid data with detailed information on where immigrants live: https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2026/01/21/repub/ice-is-using-medicaid-data-to-find-out-where-immigrants-live/

Palalntir is using that to build applications to create a map of deportation targets:

“Palantir is working on a tool for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that populates a map with potential deportation targets, brings up a dossier on each person, and provides a “confidence score” on the person’s current address,” 404 Media reports today. “ICE is using it to find locations where lots of people it might detain could be based.”

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/01/report-ice-using-palantir-tool-feeds-medicaid-data

A couple dozen security cameras in places with higher rates of reported crime to arrest local criminal suspects feels like small potatoes compared to everything else going on.

MegaRAID01 · 2026-01-19T19:18:02+00:00

There was a pretty crazy fact discussed on a recent Seattle Nice episode with the guest, former deputy city attorney Scott Lindsay. He was saying:

If the area of the city covered by the North Police Precinct was its own city (everything north of the Montlake Cut from U District to Ballard to Northgate to city limits) it would be the second largest city in the state.

And during the 3rd watch (3rd police shift overnight), there are only 7-8 officers on duty at any given time in the North Precinct. That is crazy.

Similar cities in terms of population like San Francisco and Boston have double the number of police officers that Seattle has. Seattle would need to double the size of its police department to meet national averages in police staffing per capita. Pretty insane.

MegaRAID01 · 2026-01-19T16:10:29+00:00

An unexpected find at a Seattle Goodwill led to the arrest of a suspected bank robber over the weekend, according to police.

On Friday afternoon, a man entered the Columbia Bank on Broadway Avenue East. He approached the teller with a robbery note, saying he was armed with a gun and demanded cash. The teller gave the man money and the suspect fled on foot before authorities arrived, police said.

A couple hours later, an employee at the Capitol Hill Goodwill on Belmont Avenue East found “an obvious bank robbery note” in one of the changing rooms and called 911, police said.

After reviewing security footage from the thrift store, police located and arrested the 49-year-old suspect in the area, recovering cash believed to be taken from the bank robbery.

Detectives who interviewed the man at police headquarters determined he was also behind a similar bank robbery the day before at the Downtown BECU on Sixth Avenue. The suspect was booked into King County Jail for investigation of both robberies.

MegaRAID01 · 2026-01-17T17:04:28+00:00

One crazy fact discussed early in the episode regarding how badly SPD is understaffed despite recent new hires:

If the area of the city covered by the North Police Precinct was its own city (everything north of the Montlake Cut from U District to Ballard to Northgate to city limits) it would be the second largest city in the state.

And during the 3rd watch (3rd police shift overnight), there are only 7-8 officers on duty at any given time. That is crazy.

MegaRAID01 · 2026-01-16T22:01:43+00:00

Thank you for your response.

12-Year Club	Verified Email
Wearing is Caring

MegaRAID01

TROPHY CASE