Washington's $126 gun permit fee draws scrutiny over cost math

Washington is set to charge gun buyers $126 for a permit-to-purchase starting May 1, and Bearing Arms says the state's own math on where that money goes doesn't hold up.

Snapshot

Bearing Arms, citing a Reason Magazine report, breaks down Washington's new permit-to-purchase fee: $90 for the permit itself and $36 for a fingerprint background check, with additional costs for a mandated gun safety course. The Washington State Patrol projects 200,000 applicants in year one, and the author questions why the permit portion alone would need to generate roughly $18 million.

Key points

• The fee breakdown: Reason reports the $126 total splits into $90 for the permit and $36 for fingerprinting, with the permit requiring renewal every five years at the same $90 rate, and existing concealed pistol or hunting license holders get no exemption.
• Extra costs not included: Applicants must also pay separately for a state-certified safety course covering live fire, safe storage, suicide prevention, and use of deadly force, according to Reason's reporting.
• WSP's stated revenue figure: Commander Kevin Baird told Reason the fingerprint fee isn't kept by the permit program, meaning the $90 portion alone could bring in about $18 million based on 200,000 expected applicants.
• Bearing Arms' math problem: The author argues that figure doesn't square with the actual processing work involved, estimating applications would take minutes rather than hours even accounting for staff and overhead.
• What's next: Bearing Arms expects the law, passed by Democrats over Republican opposition, to face state and federal constitutional challenges from gun rights groups.

Quick take

Bearing Arms frames this as a fee structure built more for generating revenue than covering actual costs, and the numbers as presented by the state's own official do raise the question the piece asks. Worth a read before the permit requirement takes effect.

Read the full story: bearingarms.com