OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON — Washington state lawmakers have passed a bill banning the sale, manufacture, and import of so-called “assault weapons,” with the Senate approving H.B. 1240 in a historic 27-21 vote.
Per the Washington State Office of the Attorney General, Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Governor Jay Inslee backed the legislation, which will now return to the House for a concurrence vote before reaching Governor Inslee’s desk.
It is broadly expected to be signed once it reaches the governor’s desk, which will be a massive blow to Second Amendment freedoms in Washington state.
Once signed, Washington will become the tenth state to enact such legislation.
Ferguson praised the Senate for supposedly prioritizing public safety over the interests of the gun lobby, stating, “We must stop selling these weapons of war in Washington.”
Yeah, O.K., buddy. That doesn’t sound like sensationalism at all, so nice work, there.
One Senate amendment permits gun makers to sell pre-existing inventory to out-of-state buyers for 90 days after the bill takes effect.
Washington residents will still be permitted to possess “assault weapons,” which remains a comical, made-up term, and the bill provides exceptions for law enforcement and inherited firearms.
The legislation comes after President Biden called for a nationwide assault weapons ban, referencing the 1994 ban he previously championed.
Biden’s feelings on firearms and lawful self-defense have hardly been a secret over the course of his very, very long political career.
“Instead of standing there and teaching a cop when there’s an unarmed person coming at them with a knife or something, shoot them in the leg instead of in the heart,” he said a few years back according to the New York Post.
It might be time for anti-gunners to pick someone else to try to emulate from a gun control perspective.