Gun law in the United States is defined by a number of state and federal statutes. Sale or delivery of firearms is restricted in Washington like any other U.S. state. In almost all the states of the U.S., an importer, manufacturer, dealer or collector shall be licensed under the Federal Gun Control Act of 1968, to be a lawful seller.
Rev. Code Wash. (ARCW) § 9.41.190 prohibits any person from selling any machine gun, short-barreled shotgun, or short-barreled rifle. It also prohibits the sale of any part designed and intended exclusively for use in a machine gun, short-barreled shotgun, or short-barreled rifle. The law also prohibits conversion of a weapon into a machine gun, short-barreled shotgun, or short-barreled rifle; or to assemble or repair any machine gun, short-barreled shotgun, or short-barreled rifle.
Before making a sale, the dealer should collect an application containing his or her full name, street address, date and place of birth, race, and gender, date and hour of application, driver’s or state identification number; and a description of the pistol including the make, model, caliber and manufacturer’s number. The application should also state that s/he is eligible to possess a pistol and should be signed in triplicate. Delivery of the pistol has to be made after five business days after the application is made. If the purchaser does not possess a valid Washington driver’s license or state identification card or has not been a resident of the state for the previous consecutive 90 days, then the delivery will be extended to sixty days from the receipt of application. An applicant having a valid license to carry a pistol concealed is not subject to the waiting period.
In case if the dealer is notified in writing by the police chief or sheriff denying the purchaser’s application to purchase and the reasons for the denial, pistol shall not be delivered the buyer. The police can delay the delivery of pistol up to thirty days for a valid reason, and the court can extend the delivery to another thirty days for a good cause.
