Washington state used to be pretty pro-gun. Then we saw the exodus from California result in a lot more left-leaning voters in the state, shifting it toward being firmly anti-gun.

Over the last handful of years, they embraced more and more measures that infringe on people's right to keep and bear arms, often using ballot initiatives to permit the larger urban centers to override the rural parts of the state--whereas going through the legislature might allow rural lawmakers a chance to kill such legislation--all to push gun control down people's throats.

And to hear advocates of these measures tell it, such laws are essential in keeping guns out of the wrong hands.

That's what gun control fans always say.

They're also suspiciously quiet when we get reports like this.

There were more weapons brought into Washington’s schools during the last school year than the year before.

That’s according to a new report from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, which found an 11.6% increase in weapons on school grounds in the 2022-2023 school year compared to 2021-2022.

During the 2022-2023 school year, 2,275 weapon incidents were reported by Washington’s public and private schools. Of those, 316 involved possession of a firearm. All of the gun incidents were reported at public schools. Most other reports involved knives, daggers or “other weapons.”

However, the presence of guns specifically increased, as there were 236 incidents involving firearms during the 2021-2022 school year, according to last year’s report from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

“I wish I could say I was really shocked by this increase, but sadly I’m not that shocked,” said Johnny Lupinacci, an associate professor at Washington State University who studies the intersection of schools and social justice.

While national data on the 2022-2023 school year is not yet available, data from 2021-2022 show that, among states, Washington had the 11th highest rate of students bringing firearms to school.

Now, Washington isn't the only state where this is happening, of course. It's a national issue, though it should be noted that the vast majority of the guns recovered were never fired nor were they ever intended to be part of something like a mass shooting.

But they were on school grounds and in the possession of students, the vast majority of which weren't old enough to own any firearms, much less the guns recovered.

My question is very simple: If gun control actually works to keep guns out of the hands of those who cannot lawfully possess them, then how does a state that has become so anti-gun in recent years have so many instances of children bringing guns to school?

Or is it possible that gun control doesn't really impact those who are inclined to break the laws in the first place, including school-aged children?

Many of these kids are raised in an environment where lawlessness is respected and even revered. Breaking the law is seen as cool or, perhaps more troubling, normal. Taking a gun to school, either for clout or to settle scores, is just part of that environment and no amount of gun control will stop it because the people trading guns back and forth as part of that environment aren't exactly running background checks.

Meanwhile, law-abiding citizens are having to deal with laws that restrict them while doing nothing to keep guns out of the hands of literal children.

Just something to think about there.