BELLEVUE, Wash. — A law prohibiting the sale, manufacture, and import of assault weapons in Washington state was adopted by the state Senate on Saturday, leading to a spike in consumer traffic at gun stores around the state.
Gun sales have increased by 400% this month, according to Wade Gaughran, proprietor of Wade's Eastside Guns. Since the doors are closing, he said, customers will buy "as many as they can" or "as many as they want," whichever is more.
To that end, Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Governor Jay Inslee have asked for House Bill 1240, which would create safeguards relating to weapons.
Gaughran opposes the assault weapons prohibition and claims it would hurt his company down the road. He argued that this went against the rights of all Washingtonians under the Second Amendment. According to me, this legislation is counterproductive to public safety because of how poorly it was designed.
Wade claims that he often sees customers waiting outside the shop before it opens because there is so high demand for firearms. "I've sold thousands and thousands of military-style rifles, again what the other side would call assault weapons, over the past 35 years and we've never had one traced back.
Students like Natalya McConnell have told KOMO they believe a ban on assault weapons would reduce the number of mass shootings in schools. The problem in this nation and this state is firearms, and that's awful. She argued that fewer firearms in the hands of the general public would reduce crime.
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