Legislature passes ban on assault weapons

Gov. Jay Inslee and AG Bob Ferguson listen to KeAnna Pickett recount the death of her husband DeVonne, shot dead outside of their family business in Seattle in October 2022

The Legislature on Thursday passed HB 1240, sponsored by Sen. Strom Peterson, to prohibit the sale of assault weapons. Gov. Jay Inslee is expected to sign the bill soon, along with legislation to require safety training and a 10-day waiting period, and a bill to strengthen accountability for manufacturers and retailers.

Washington will become the tenth state to ban assault weapons.

"WA does not and will not accept gun violence as normal," tweeted Inslee.

Fifty-nine Americans died in mass shootings in just five years preceding a federal ban on assault weapons in effect between 1994 and 2004. Only 53 died during its ten years of effect, and mortality exploded after its expiration. 

The American Association for the Surgery of Trauma estimated that the ban reduced the likelihood of mass shootings by 70%.

"High-capacity assault weapons have no practical use in civilized society except to make it easier for people to easily kill multiple people," said Sen. Marko Liias in 2017, not long after a mass shooting involving an assault weapon left three dead in Mukilteo. 

Washington state last year passed a ban on high-capacity magazines and so-called untraceable “ghost guns.” 

Washington voters have also approved policies to strengthen background checks and implement extreme risk protection orders, also known as red flags. Such policies are helping address various forms of gun violence including suicide and domestic violence.