- On February 28, 1969, eight Black Panthers from the party’s Seattle chapter arrive in Olympia and stand on the steps of the state capitol building holding rifles and shotguns to protest a bill passed by the legislature the day before that would make it a misdemeanor to exhibit firearms or other weapons in a manner manifesting intent to intimate others. A Washington State Patrol officer asks the Panthers to unload their weapons and they do. After Seattle chapter captain Aaron Dixon (b. 1949) reads a statement to the legislature, the Panthers leave the capitol grounds and return to Seattle. The dramatic protest notwithstanding, Governor Dan Evans (1925-2024) signs the gun-control measure into law that same day.