Visualization of NPI’s poll finding on Senate Bill 5078
Last week, a state Supreme Court commissioner ordered that Washington state’s high-capacity magazine ban will remain in effect. This decision comes while a legal challenge against the new law remains pending in the courts.
Washington’s law banning high-capacity magazines has been the subject of several legal actions in recent weeks.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
The high-capacity magazine ban was first overturned by a Cowlitz County Judge Gary Bashor. Earlier this month, he ruled the state’s ban on high-capacity magazines unconstitutional in a lawsuit between Washington State and Gators Customs Guns, a firearms dealer in Kelso.
Judge Bashor’s ruling imposed an injunction on the law for a short time. This meant the ban was effectively overturned in the state of Washington. Immediately after Judge Bashor’s ruling, firearms retailers around the state resumed the sale of high-capacity magazines.
Within 90 minutes, Supreme Court Commissioner Michael E. Johnston granted the Washington State Attorney General’s Office a temporary stay on that injunction. This ruling effectively put the high-capacity magazine ban back into effect. So far, the decision kept the stay in place. It will remain so while the legal challenges against the high-capacity magazine ban are being decided.
Commissioner Johnston ruled that those in opposition of the law “failed to persuasively show” that the ban should be overturned while the ultimate legality of the law is decided. The commissioner also considered the potential harms that could come from lifting the stay and allowing the magazines to be sold in the meantime.
WASHINGTON’S BAN ON HIGH-CAPACITY MAGAZINES
Washington’s ban on high-capacity magazines first went into effect on July 1, 2022. The ban prohibits the sale of gun magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds, along with the manufacturing, distribution or import of high-capacity magazines in Washington state.
The bill does not criminalize the possession of high-capacity magazines but instead focuses on the suppliers. Violating the law could result in a gross misdemeanor.
In September of 2023, the Washington AG’s office filed a lawsuit against Gator’s Custom Guns for continuing to sell high-capacity magazines. In response, the gun store owner challenged the law in court.
Other lawsuits have been filed regarding this legislation. In December 2022, Ferguson also filed a lawsuit against a gun store in Federal Way for selling high-capacity magazines after the ban went into effect months before. As a result, the store was ordered to pay $3 million for the illegal sale.
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