The prohibition on assault weapons in Washington state was signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee on Tuesday morning. The state of Washington is the tenth in the United States to prohibit the sale of assault rifles.
On April 19, the House approved Senate Amendment 1 to House Bill 1240 by a vote of 56 to 42. For 90 days after the bill's enactment, the amendment will let gun manufacturers sell stock on hand before January 1, 2023, but only to customers located outside of the state.
The measure does not prohibit the ownership of assault weapons and makes an exemption for the ownership of such weapons by law enforcement and military personnel.
The bill's approval was celebrated on social media by both Inslee and Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson. As Inslee put it on Twitter, "Washington does not and will not accept gun violence as normal." Our measure to restrict the sale of assault weapons, establish training requirements and a waiting period, and raise the accountability of manufacturers and retailers would prevent needless deaths.
Supporters of the right to bear arms have pledged to fight the legislation in court, claiming the restriction is unconstitutional. On Tuesday, the Second Amendment Foundation challenged the prohibition in federal court, seeking both temporary and permanent injunctions.
In a prepared statement, Alan Gottlieb, founder and executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation, said, "The state has enacted a flat prohibition on the manufacture, sale, and import.
The result is that the state has made it illegal to own a contemporary semiautomatic rifle, a weapon that is both widely available and crucial for self-defense. This measure punishes law-abiding people while doing little to apprehend and prosecute criminals who abuse guns in violation of all existing gun control regulations, demonstrating that the state has prioritized politics above fundamental rights. That's ludicrous.
Olympia Private Sector Arms owner Don Teague says the prohibition rendered 85 percent of his firearms stock unsaleable. He has gone to the trouble of placing them in storage if the lawsuits succeed in delaying or overturning the legislation.
Meanwhile, Teague has said that he expects to increase sales of pump-action rifles, which are not prohibited by the new legislation. A confident Attorney General Ferguson predicted the gun prohibition would be upheld in court.
According to Ferguson, "My legal team is better than their legal team," and they have yet to lose a case in which the NRA or the Second Amendment Foundation fought common-sense gun legislation. I know we can do it again and win. Litigation has followed in jurisdictions that have enacted statutes similar to HB 1240.
Voters in Oregon adopted Measure 114, but the law is presently on hold in the courts. The sale of large-capacity magazines is prohibited, and permission is needed to purchase a handgun under this regulation. Customers are making purchases quickly in anticipation of HB 1240's ban on future sales of assault weapons.
People are shipping in and placing purchases from out of state as they rush to file their paperwork before the new law takes effect.
Those who are against the bill say it is too broad and that greater attention should be paid to mental health.
The Alliance for Gun Responsibility and other proponents of the law have been lobbying for it in Olympia for many years, arguing that it would save lives. "This is a major success. The Gun Alliance for Responsibility's Director of Communications, Victoria Muzyk, was there in Olympia on the day the bill was first voted down on the Senate floor. That was such an amazing and touching part of history; the emotions I had that night will stay with me forever.
Proponents of the measure point to a government study showing that fewer mass shootings would have occurred if the federal assault weapons prohibition had been allowed to remain in place. To avert other catastrophes like this, Muzyk argues that "until we see DC take nationwide action," it will be up to local states to "right the direction" of the future.
The prohibition on assault weapons in Washington state was signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee on Tuesday morning. The state of Washington is the tenth in the United States to prohibit the sale of assault rifles.
On April 19, the House approved Senate Amendment 1 to House Bill 1240 by a vote of 56 to 42. For 90 days after the bill's enactment, the amendment will let gun manufacturers sell stock on hand before January 1, 2023, but only to customers located outside of the state. The measure does not prohibit the ownership of assault weapons and makes an exemption for the ownership of such weapons by law enforcement and military personnel.
The bill's approval was celebrated on social media by both Inslee and Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
Supporters of the right to bear arms have pledged to fight the legislation in court, claiming the restriction is unconstitutional. On Tuesday, the Second Amendment Foundation challenged the prohibition in federal court, seeking both temporary and permanent injunctions.
In a prepared statement, Alan Gottlieb, founder and executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation, said, "The state has enacted a flat prohibition on the manufacture, sale, and import.
The result is that the state has made it illegal to own a contemporary semiautomatic rifle, a weapon that is both widely available and crucial for self-defense. This measure punishes law-abiding people while doing little to apprehend and prosecute criminals who abuse guns in violation of all existing gun control regulations, demonstrating that the state has prioritized politics above fundamental rights. That's ludicrous.
Olympia Private Sector Arms owner Don Teague says the prohibition rendered 85 percent of his firearms stock unsaleable. He has gone to the trouble of placing them in storage if the lawsuits succeed in delaying or overturning the legislation.
Meanwhile, Teague has said that he expects to increase sales of pump-action rifles, which are not prohibited by the new legislation.
A confident Attorney General Ferguson predicted the gun prohibition would be upheld in court. According to Ferguson, "My legal team is better than their legal team," and they have yet to lose a case in which the NRA or the Second Amendment Foundation fought common-sense gun legislation. I know we can do it again and win.
Litigation has followed in jurisdictions that have enacted statutes similar to HB 1240. Voters in Oregon adopted Measure 114, but the law is presently on hold in the courts. The sale of large-capacity magazines is prohibited, and permission is needed to purchase a handgun under this regulation.
Customers are making purchases quickly in anticipation of HB 1240's ban on future sales of assault weapons. People are shipping in and placing purchases from out of state as they rush to file their paperwork before the new law takes effect.
When will firearms be available? Those who are against the bill say it is too broad and that greater attention should be paid to mental health.
The Alliance for Gun Responsibility and other proponents of the law have been lobbying for it in Olympia for many years, arguing that it would save lives. "This is a major success. The Gun Alliance for Responsibility's Director of Communications, Victoria Muzyk, was there in Olympia on the day the bill was first voted down on the Senate floor. That was such an amazing and touching part of history; the emotions I had that night will stay with me forever.
Proponents of the measure point to a government study showing that fewer mass shootings would have occurred if the federal assault weapons prohibition had been allowed to remain in place. To avert other catastrophes like this, Muzyk argues that "until we see DC take nationwide action," it will be up to local states to "right the direction" of the future.
Comments / 0