Washington Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Washington, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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If I own an assault weapon under Washington law and want to sell it through a pawn shop to someone out of state, can I, and can the pawn shop legally complete the transfer?
Yes, all three pieces work, with the usual licensing strings attached. AGO 2024 No. 4 says: (1) an assault-weapon owner who is legally authorized to transfer the weapon can sell it to a properly licen…
If a pawnshop took someone's assault rifle as collateral on a loan, does the 2023 Washington ban let the pawnshop give the rifle back when the loan is paid, and what happens if the loan defaults?
Returning is fine; selling is mostly not. AGO 2023 No. 5 says SHB 1240's ban on manufacturing, importing, distributing, selling, or offering to sell assault weapons does not bar a pawnbroker from retu…
Does Washington's 2023 assault-weapon law (SHB 1240) cover rim-fire rifles like a .22 caliber semi-auto, or only center-fire rifles?
Sometimes yes. AGO 2023 No. 4 says some rim-fire semi-autos are covered. The statute, RCW 9.41.010(2)(a), defines an 'assault weapon' to include any of 62 named firearms (some of which come in rim-fir…
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Attorney general opinions in Washington are written by the Washington Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.