WA House votes to ban ‘high-capacity’ magazines, bill now heads to the governor
After more than three hours of debate, Washington House Representatives passed a ban on “high-capacity” magazines in the state late Friday night.
House members voted to pass the measure 55-42. Friday was the cutoff deadline for policy bills to be passed from the opposite house before they can no longer be considered this session. The bill will now head for Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk.
Senate Bill 5078 prohibits the manufacture, importation, distribution, selling, and offering for sale of “ammunition feeding devices” with the capacity to hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. The bill will go into effect July 1, if signed by Inslee.
Violations of the new law would result in a gross misdemeanor, which carries a maximum punishment of 364 days in jail and/or a fine up to $5,000.
Licensed firearm dealers are exempt from the prohibition if selling to law enforcement agencies or to branches of the military in the state.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Marko Liias, D-Lynnwood, at the request of the Attorney General’s office, and was introduced during the 2021 legislative session. The measure passed the Washington Senate on Feb. 9 of this year before it was turned over to the House.
Two dozen amendments were introduced for the floor debate, including an amendment introduced by Democratic Rep. Kirsten Harris-Talley from Seattle to modify the definition of “high-capacity” from more than 10 rounds of ammo to more than 15 rounds for a pistol.
She said many of her neighbors in the 37th district had concerns about the legislation and said she has weighed their concerns heavily.
Considerations of the policies on the books and conversations about gun responsibility ignore the fact that Black, brown and Indigenous gun owners not only face the most amount of gun violence but also are the most criminalized by that gun violence, said Harris-Talley.
“My neighbors are concerned that pieces of this bill are not going to address the fact that we have stockpiles of guns and ammunition already in the state,” she said. “They want to know that in the face of police violence, which is also gun violence, and other types of white supremacy…that they can protect themselves.”
Rep. David Hackney from Tukwila was the sole Democrat to speak against Harris-Talley’s amendment while multiple Republicans such as Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, spoke in support. The amendment ultimately failed to pass, along with the other amendments that were introduced in the House. Eight were withdrawn.
Harris-Talley and Rep. Steve Kirby from Tacoma were the only two Democrats to vote no on the passage of the legislation.
Many Democrats gave emotional pleas in front of other House members to pass the legislation during the debate, citing several mass shootings such as El Paso and Las Vegas where the perpetrator was carrying high-capacity magazines to commit violence. They argued that if magazines were smaller, a shooter would have to spend more time reloading, ideally limiting the number of injuries.
Republicans debated at length, arguing that the bill is unconstitutional and violates Second Amendment rights. They argued too that the legislation would not keep high-capacity magazines out of the hands of criminals.
“This bill is about the wrong people,” said Minority House Leader Rep. J.T. Wilcox, R-Yelm. “This bill is dealing with all the folks that are going to be law-abiding.”
He said he believes everyone has the wrong impression of the people who own guns. The debate shows how varied opinions are, he said.
“An attack on one is an attack on all of them,” Wilcox continued. “If we diminish the Second Amendment today, I think that makes it a lot easier to diminish the First Amendment.”
After the House passage, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson released a statement and said the passage took years of hard work after he initially pursued gun reform in 2016.
“Today, our Legislature chose public safety over the gun lobby, and I am deeply appreciative of their service,” Ferguson said. “This policy will save lives and make our communities safer from gun violence.”
Washington will become the 10th state to ban high-capacity magazines if signed into law. Hawaii, California and New York already have bans in place.
The legislative session ends Thursday.
This story was originally published March 5, 2022 at 7:13 AM.
