Membership Prohibitions

The Puget Sound SRA has established guidelines for prospective members in line with the qualifications laid out by national SRA in Article three, section three of their bylaws. In addition, PSSRA has established qualifications necessary for basic functioning in line with our mission as a firearms education group (i.e., members must be legally allowed to possess firearms).

Individuals, unless otherwise decided upon, are prohibited from membership in the Chapter and/or Organization if:

  • The individual is under 21 years of age (due to state handgun and semiautomatic rifle laws).
  • The individual possesses a recent and/or relevant history of expressing sympathy or support for fascism, neoconfederatism, or other reactionary and/or discriminatory ideologies.
  • The individual actively participates in exclusionary social ideologies, including but not limited to: racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, or religious discrimination.
  • The individual has a known history of perpetrating abuse and/or sexual assault.
  • The individual has expressed clear intent or has clearly and repeatedly acted to cause harm to the name or structure of the Chapter and/or Organization.
  • The individual has been expelled from other sympathetic or leftist organizations for charges related to character or conduct.
  • The individual is a member of a militia or paramilitary organization, namely a movement that shows express intent to use violence in an illegal manner.
  • The individual is currently employed, in a volunteer or paid capacity, as any manner of law enforcement or peace officer.
  • The individual is currently employed, in a volunteer or paid capacity, as any manner of domestic or foreign state or private intelligence agency, department or organization. (This does not apply to individuals working for domestic agencies not connected to intelligence gathering or espionage.)
  • The individual directly employs workers and the majority of whose income is derived from the labor of others, or through stocks, bonds, or other financial assets.

Adherence to a socialist ideology is not a requirement for membership. However, it should be understood that the core purpose of the Chapter and Organization, advocating for the working class to develop the means to engage in personal and community defense, is inherently socialist.

Military Service

If you are a military veteran or active duty service member, you are not necessarily disqualified from membership, but you must let us know via email or DM our Vetting Chair with that information prior to your vetting session so we can follow up with a few questions about your service.

Firearms Prohibitions

In alignment with the Chapter’s mission as a firearms education organization first and foremost, we are currently not admitting individuals for membership who are legally prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms by the federal government or the state of Washington.

Potential members must be able to “pass” an ATF Form 4473; please see that form (link follows) for a full list and list of possible exceptions.

The following list quotes directly from Form 4473 and does not reflect the attitudes of the Chapter or Organization.

Individuals are prohibited from membership in the Chapter if:

  • The individual has been convicted of or is under indictment for a felony, or or any other crime that could result in a prison sentence of a year or more
  • The individual is an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance.
  • The individual has ever been adjudicated as a mental defective OR has ever been committed to a mental institution.
  • The individual has ever been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions.
  • The individual is subject to a court order restraining them from harassing, stalking, or threatening their child or an intimate partner or child of such partner
  • The individual has ever been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of
  • The individual is an alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States domestic violence