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Committee considers changes to protection-order process, notification and penalties for ghost guns
Summary
Senate Bill 5202 received a public hearing Jan. 20 and would make procedural and enforcement changes to civil protection orders, including provisions to discourage mutual full orders, clarify minor renewal paths, allow limited ex parte modifications, and enhance penalties when respondents possess untraceable or undetectable firearms while prohibited.
Senate Bill 5202 received a public hearing Jan. 20 in the Law & Justice Committee. The bill proposes a package of procedural and substantive changes to Washington’s protection‑order framework intended to improve enforceability and public safety. Key changes include clarifying confidential document uses for petitions, discouraging issuance of mutual full protection orders, allowing a minor who was protected to petition to renew when they turn 18, permitting a protected party to move to terminate or modify an ex parte order without notice when the respondent has not yet been served, and allowing judicial officers to correct or modify ex parte orders at full hearings.
Sponsor Senator Solomon emphasized the bill builds on 2021 statutory consolidation that increased access to protection orders and that technical fixes are needed to address implementation problems. The bill would also expand unlawful‑possession-of‑firearm liability to include possession or access to untraceable or undetectable firearms (commonly called "ghost guns") during periods when the person is subject to a protection order, no‑contact order, or restraining order.
King County senior deputy prosecuting attorney Kim Wyatt described encountering privately made ghost guns in domestic‑violence and extremist‑related cases and said the proposal is intended to "keep firearms out of dangerous hands." Sandra Shanahan, who manages a regional domestic‑violence firearms enforcement unit, told the committee that protected parties can register for notifications from courts and that the bill would strengthen processes for prosecutors and improve enforcement of court‑ordered firearm relinquishment. Advocates and prosecutors urged improvements and suggested practical changes — for example, law‑enforcement witnesses recommended that orders and modifications be typed rather than handwritten to avoid confusion in the field.
Supporters included domestic‑violence legal services and prosecutors; some law‑enforcement witnesses offered technical recommendations. The committee closed public testimony; sponsors said further drafting and technical clarifications may follow.
