State v. C.Q.

A starter’s pistol having no bore through its barrel, and thus capable of discharging only blank cartridges, is not a firearm nor is it a dangerous weapon as that term is defined by the Legislature. The definitional statute in question, RCW 9.41.280, lists a variety of weapons of a kind capable of producing death or serious bodily injury. While we recognize that a starter’s pistol is capable of producing the fear of such injury in any person not aware of its true nature, fear of injury is not a term the Legislature chose to use in the definition. Thus, taking one to school may and should be…