Governor signs into law 3 new bills that put restrictions on guns in WA
Elected leaders joined Gov. Jay Inslee Wednesday in Olympia as he signed into law a package of new gun legislation for the state of Washington.
The package included three new pieces of additional gun legislation passed during the 2022 session: restrictions on guns at school board meetings, local government meetings and election facilities; restrictions on ghost guns; and bans on “high-capacity” magazines.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Sen. Marko Liias, D-Lynnwood, Rep. Liz Berry, D-Seattle, and Rep. Tana Senn, D-Mercer Island, all sponsors of the various bills, stood with Inslee during the signing.
Several families impacted by gun violence and other legislators who have pushed gun legislation also were present.
Inslee said he was proud that the state “has been willing to take the lead to stand up against the NRA, and to stand up for common sense gun safety legislation.”
“We are not willing to accept gun violence as a normal part of life in the state of Washington,” Inslee added. “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 governor first signed Senate Bill 5078, which was sponsored by Liias at the request of the Attorney General’s Office. The new law restricts the sale, purchase, distribution, manufacture, and importation of magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
Violations of this law would be a gross misdemeanor.
Attorney General Ferguson has been trying to implement the ban on “high-capacity” magazines for a number of years and took the time prior to the signing to thank the organizations and families who have supported gun safety legislation. He said that although he has always supported a ban on high-capacity magazines, speaking to families after the mass shooting in Mukilteo encouraged him to bring the legislation forward. He said his plan then was to bring the bill forward every year until it passed.
Through tears, Liias, who is from Mukilteo, told the group of families, legislators and reporters present that being a part of the fight has been “a tremendous honor and privilege” to “make sure that future communities, future families, and future parents don’t have to experience the horror of July 2016 in Mukilteo.”
Inslee then signed House Bill 1705 which places restrictions on “ghost guns” — unserialized and untraceable firearms that can be bought online and assembled at home. Sponsored by Berry, the legislation requires ghost gun parts to have traceable serial numbers. The first violation would result in a $500 penalty, and the second violation could result in a misdemeanor offense.
“As lawmakers I believe we must do everything we can to end gun violence in our communities, and that’s why I was so proud to bring the ghost gun bill this year that will ban untraceable homemade ghost guns,” said Berry, prior to the bill signing. “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.”
Inslee also signed House Bill 1630, sponsored by Senn. The law prohibits the open carry of weapons at local government meetings such as city council meetings and would prohibit the possession of weapons at school board meetings and election facilities where ballots are counted.
Violations of the new law would result in a misdemeanor for the first offense, and a gross misdemeanor for the second offense.
Senn said banning weapons on the state Capitol in 2021 was “the start of recognizing that we need to protect access to democracy” and that the pandemic has made that “more clear.”
“No one should be prevented from accessing their government due to fear of armed intimidation,” Senn added.
The bill-signing event was closed to the public, although reporters were allowed to attend.
Kim Gatbunton, the mother of Joshua Gatbunton who was killed by gun violence in 2008, spoke to reporters after the bill signing. She testified multiple times during the legislative session, she said, on ghost guns and high-capacity magazines.
“Don’t forget that these are very important bills and that on the other side of these bills are real, actual people that have been affected,” Gatbunton said. “We live and deal with the trauma and the aftermath every single day so these bills matter. If one life can be saved from one of these bills, it makes a difference.”
The 2022 legislative session ended March 10.
This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 12:19 PM.
