Welcome to the People's Soviet of Washington, citizen -- may I see your papers please?
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
However in addition to the other issues described above, note that the state has several proposals to raise taxes including state patrol and roadway funding under circumstances where they have so much money they are funding something absurd like this--this activity results not from some threat but from funds being appropriated by the legislature to do it under circumstances where they also need to go back to the people for more money to do other things they need to do.
I decided to have some fun with this. I sent an email to WSDOT-Ferries from their website and asked them if it was against the law to take a firearm on the ferry boat. Since the ferry system is an extension of the state highway system and since an unloaded firearm in a case out of the drivers compartment is legal on roads and furthermore since in the ferry system published safety rules, they only prohibit gas cans, connected propane tanks and oxygen tank, but not firearms, I asked if I go deer hunting in the Olympic Peninsula, do I have to drive around.
I further pointed out that the WA Dept of Fish & Wildlife has a special deer hunting permit available to all hunters in the state with places like the San Juan Island Game Management Unit and that in the state's hunter safety class or the hunting regulations there is nothing that says firearms are prohibited from ferry boats. If you can't take a firearm on a ferry boat, there is no practicle way to hunt much of the San Juan Island Game Unit which is pistol or shotgun firearm restricted. (Honestly state trooper, I was just following the regulations set up by the Dept of F&W! That's why I have a scoped revolver and shotgun in my car.)
I demanded to know if there were any regulations prohibiting the transport of firearms prior to the drawing for the state special deer permit season by F&W as it would impact my choice of Game Units I applied for.
It will be interesting to see what they say.
Obviously they were given too much funding. Another example of why giving bureaucrats excess money works against the taxpayer.
What's so pathetic about this is that it's so easily defeated. Just post observers near all the (few) ferry terminals. When the troopers show up at one, the others are "free." Or, if you don't have that much personnel, wait and observe one terminal until the troopers arrive then leave. Now it's "free." (There's an even easier exploit mentioned in the article, but why go on?)
Your tax dollars at work, making you safer. Right.
Yeah, right. Been to an airport lately? Airplanes...ferries...what's the difference?