U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation Wednesday banning the future sale, manufacture or importation of ammunition magazines capable of holding more than 10 cartridges, and the head of the Second Amendment Foundation told a Seattle newspaper his organization “will definitely file a lawsuit against the magazine ban.”
Inslee gathered with the Democrat lawmakers who sponsored Senate Bill 5078 and two other pieces of legislation—House Bills 1630 and 1705—and SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb told AmmoLand News “Our attorneys are reviewing those bills.” Coincidentally, SAF’s national headquarters are located in Bellevue, a city just east of Seattle.
Evergreen State gun owners are especially wary of the magazine ban because they have learned from past experience the gun control movement never seems satisfied and always comes back for more. It may take one or two years, depending upon the 2022 elections and whether Democrats remain in control of the Legislature in Olympia, but gun rights activists expect this issue to come up again.
Democrats have become the party of gun control and bans, as HB 1630 prohibits the open carry of firearms at meetings such as school board or city council sessions. It also prevents the carrying of firearms openly or concealed at elections offices, as noted by the Seattle Times.
Lawmakers at the bill signing were identified by the Daily Olympian as State Sen. Marko Liias (D-Lynnwood), and Reps. Liz Berry (D-Seattle), and Tana Senn (D-Mercer Island.) The gathering also included “several families impacted by gun violence,” the Olympian reported.
They were identified generically by the Seattle Times as “firearms-safety advocates, including people who have seen friends and family killed or injured from gun violence, as well as…state Attorney General Bob Ferguson.”
There is no indication anyone in the room was a firearms safety instructor, or represented organizations that offer gun safety courses taught by certified instructors, such as the National Rifle Association or U.S. Concealed Carry Association.
Inslee was quoted by the Olympian expressing personal pride that Washington “has been willing to take the lead to stand up against the NRA, and to stand up for common sense gun safety legislation.” There was no small irony in the fact that Inslee signed restrictive gun control laws within days of governors in three other states signing legislation opening their states–Alabama, Indiana, and Ohio–to “constitutional carry.”
“We are not willing to accept gun violence as a normal part of life in the state of Washington,” Inslee stated, according to the newspaper account. “We will not allow this scourge of gun violence to wash across our state without taking action. Today I’m proud to say we’re taking action against gun violence.”
The magazine ban, which takes effect in July, does not affect original capacity magazines already possessed by gun owners. It is those magazines that may be the target of future legislation that could mandate an outright ban on their possession.
Dan Mitchell, the owner of Sporting Systems in Vancouver, Wash., told AmmoLand he’s been selling lots of magazines and firearms that come equipped with such magazines. He is skeptical about the magazine ban because “there is no way to enforce it.”
Mitchell predicted strong sales of magazines and firearms over the next three months before the ban takes effect. Asked what the new laws will accomplish, Mitchell offered a one-word response: “Nothing.”
House Bill 1705 puts restrictions on so-called “ghost guns,” requiring serial numbers to be added to home-built firearms so they may be traced.
“These guns are so dangerous because we have no way of tracing them and people can get them without a background check, that’s why they are utilized by gun traffickers,” said Berry, who sponsored the bill.
She apparently doesn’t understand that criminals avoid background checks altogether when they get their hands on any firearm, regardless of whether it has a serial number or not.
Last year, the Times recalled, Washington lawmakers passed legislation that bans open-carry of weapons at the Capitol in Olympia and at permitted demonstrations around the state. The new law regulating carry extends that prohibition to school board meetings and election facilities where ballots are counted, the Olympian detailed. School boards typically meet in school-owned facilities, where firearms are already prohibited.
As reported earlier, Brownells has started a fund-raising effort to support a SAF legal challenge by donating $2 from the sale of its each brand-name magazine to the organization.
A California magazine ban is being challenged in the federal court system, with the case currently on appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
RELATED:
- Brownells ‘Mag Dump’ Effort to Raise Funds for SAF Challenge of WA Mag Ban
- WA Gun Owner Fury Erupts as Lawmakers Pass Magazine Ban
About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
““We are not willing to accept gun violence as a normal part of life in the state of Washington,” Inslee stated“.
Dear Sirs of Washington State,
There IS NO SUCH THING AS GUN VIOLENCE!! INANIMATE objects can do no harm! The VIOLENCE can only be done by a LIVING BEING!
I reflect, redirect the VIOLENCE BACK to the DAMAGED JUDICIAL SYSTEM that turns CRIMINALS, WANTON individuals and MURDERERS back into the general populace with no regarde of their recorded past Police History.
Yep, just violent people using a gun. Violent people are no less violent just because they use a knife, baseball bat, or a rock. There was no gun around when Cain slew Able.
Your semantic argument is absurd. If you really don’t understand what is meant by “gun violence,” you might need to go back to middle school and retake English.
Thanks so much for reading Ammoland. Please offer a definition of “gun violence” for the other readers.
Dave I think I already cornered this person in an earlier reply where I used the term Cowboy Boot Violence 🙂
They simply cannot help themselves – it is ‘almost’ as of they are incapable of coming up with anything besides hoplophobic talking points.
Gomez…obviously you’re familiar with my traditional footwear. I just don’t wear spurs.
Thanks so much for reading and sharing AMMOLAND News.
Washington State and Oregon are nothing more than California North. If you were to continue the eastern border of California northward to the Canadian border excluding eastern Oregon and eastern Washington State, you would have a realistic political division that clearly divides the states by conservatives and liberals. Sadly, like most other states, those in the capitals and big cities control the rest of the state imposing their questionable authority on the entire population, even when they are not in the majority.
This is an example of the “tyranny of the majority.” I hope it does reduce gun violence, but logic seems to predict that it will not have that outcome.
The knowledge of certain, swift, and severe punishment is what has proved effective in reducing crime and recidivist rates.
The only surprise here is that it took Sinslee so long to sign it.
Well, Oldman, you’ve got me there.
Thanks so much for reading and sharing AmmoLand … especially THIS story!
Criminals will not be affected. This only infringes the Second Amendment freedom of law-abiding firearms owners. Criminals do not obey laws. That’s why what they do are called ‘crimes.’ At the most basic level, government is failing to protect citizens. https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/gov-jay-inslee-signs-three-gun-safety-bills-into-law/JE4Z5G7FBJDE3LNQWFAS6AZRJM/ It is easy to research nationwide shootings of civilians and law enforcement members by criminals actually using high-capacity magazines. The number is very few. Shotguns, rifles, revolvers and semi-automatic handguns have been used. Reducing magazine capacities of firearms will have no effect on such attacks. But the uninformed think new measures are a big deal…because it sounds good, like… Read more »
You folks in Canada need a Bill of Rights.
There’s a Vancouver in Washington, too. Just across the Columbia River from Portland.
Oh, I did not know that! Well, hopefully he has a BOR, then
Pretty certain he does. Last time I checked, the Constitution was still in effect along the lower Columbia!
The state of Washington is beautiful it is shameful that people are fleeing due to the violence in Seattle. Supporting laws because you belong to a political party serves only that party not the safety of the people who call that state home. The inability to enforce laws already enacted in that state have proven the governor will only act if he is told to by his party leaders. Remember the protest and how violence became the order of the day while the governor did nothing. Jay Inslee stand aside as those who understand our freedoms our constitution those Americans… Read more »
I think that reducing gun violence is important, but it seems pretty clear that this kind of law will have no impact on criminals who commit those acts of violence. It’s just as important to fully fund counseling and other social services in schools and municipalities to help people suffering from mental illness. Thankfully we are working on this in WA, too.
Counseling and social services have proven ineffective at reducing recidivist rates over the last sixty years, so why would counseling and social services be effective in reducing initial violence?
E4 – please explain in detail how someone can reduce something that Does Not Exist – violence is an act by a person regardless of what object or tool they happen to use, That includes fists, feet and knees and elbows. Have you ever heard of a person being stomped to death being a victim of Cowboy Boot Violence – those who would commit such an act likely don’t own work boots, well ‘maybe’ logging boots over on the Olympic Peninsula.