A new court ruling offers hope for domestic violence survivors in Washington state. For years, many courts stopped ordering abusers to turn in their guns after a 2022 decision in State v. Flannery claimed the state’s firearm surrender law was unconstitutional. This left survivors vulnerable, even though both federal and state laws are meant to keep guns away from domestic abusers.
InvestigateWest reports on the latest developments, interviewing Northwest Justice Project Managing Attorney Karla Carlisle and NJP attorney and Advocacy Counsel Mary Welch.
Carlisle witnessed the harmful impact firsthand. She described seeing “a wave across the state” of courts refusing to issue weapon surrender orders after the Flannery decision, even as she fought to protect clients who were victims of domestic violence.
Now, a June 2024 Court of Appeals ruling in the Montesi case has rejected these constitutional challenges, affirming that the firearm surrender law is legal. While the decision provides clearer guidance, some judges are still not ordering abusers to surrender their firearms.
NJP’s Welch remains cautious about future legal challenges. “I kind of feel like this is just going to be a continuous battle,” Welch said. “It’s whack-a-mole,” with different court challenges likely to come up in the future.
The story, originally published in InvestigateWest on Aug. 21, 2025, was also picked up by the Associated Press, Cascade PBS, Washington State Standard, and several other local and online news outlets.