© 2026 Boise State Public Radio
NPR in Idaho
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
There are at least 180 firearms and ammunition makers in Idaho, and the state is looking for more.After all: Idaho is a gun-friendly state. Why not encourage gun manufacturers to come in and set up shop?

New Background Check Law Likely Stopped Prohibited Buyer At Washington Gun Show

File photo. An online firearms marketplace opens for business in Washington on Monday.
M Glasgow
/
Flickr
File photo. An online firearms marketplace opens for business in Washington on Monday.

Washington’s new voter-approved background check law appears to have prevented the sale of a rifle to a man with a warrant out for his arrest.

It could be the first time the new law was put to the test.

Paul Snider organized the Lewis Clark Trader Gun Show at the Spokane County Fair & Expo the first weekend in December. He said because Washington’s new background check law had taken effect a couple of days earlier, he recruited three federally-licensed gun dealers to conduct background checks for person-to-person sales.

On Saturday December 6, one of those checks came back with a denial.

“There was a person that tried to buy a firearm and he was refused only to find out later that the person there was a warrant out for his arrest,” Snider said.

Snider said he’s no fan of the new law. But added, “The law did work in this case.”

Snider said he hopes the man is arrested, but he still thinks the new background check law is an unnecessary burden on law abiding gun owners.

Copyright 2021 Northwest News Network. To see more, visit Northwest News Network.

Since January 2004, Austin Jenkins has been the Olympia-based political reporter for the Northwest News Network. In that position, Austin covers Northwest politics and public policy, as well as the Washington State Legislature. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's (the C–SPAN of Washington State) Emmy-nominated public affairs program "Inside Olympia."
Related Content

You make stories like this possible.

The biggest portion of Boise State Public Radio's funding comes from readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

Your donation today helps make our local reporting free for our entire community.