Bob Warden, the Renton attorney who challenged the City of Seattle's ban on guns in city parks has withdrawn his appeal that was pending before the Ninth Circuit. He initiated his challenge by entering the Southwest Community Center carrying a concealed weapon violating a rule put in place by then Mayor Greg Nickels. Warden's original lawsuit was against Nickels in Federal District Court. That lawsuit was dismissed by Judge Marsha Pechman on March 11 and was a challenge to the Firearms Rule.

Warden offered his reasoning:
"In their June 28, 2010 McDonald v. Chicago decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled specifically that the Second Amendment right of individual citizens to bear arms for the purpose of self-defense was binding on states and municipalities. McDonald effectively reversed Judge Marsha Pechman’s March 11 federal district court ruling in Warden v. Nickels. It is now a settled fact that the Second Amendment fully applies to the actions of City of Seattle officials.

Still to be resolved over the coming years is what constitutes “sensitive places” where the right to carry a handgun can legally be limited. Thanks in large part to the ongoing efforts of the Second Amendment Foundation, there are other cases in the pipeline around the country that are at least as well-positioned as mine to resolve this question. After careful consideration, and in support of a coordinated approach to protecting this fundamental civil right, I asked the Ninth Circuit this week to dismiss my pending appeal. My motion was granted, and the appeal was voluntarily dismissed today.

The Seattle Parks gun ban was previously found to be an illegal violation of Washington's firearm state preemption statute. My voluntary dismissal of the federal case has no impact whatsoever on the state court ruling."