Are ‘Mass Shootings’ the WA Threat Legislators Claim They Are?

Republican legislators say the bill will be signed by Governor Jay Inslee, then will come the lawsuits and it will be overturned.

  House Bill 1240 passes legislature

According to The Center Square, and other sources, the WA State House and Senate have finally passed perhaps the most sweeping gun-ban law seen in our state.

HB 1240 bans nearly 60 types of firearms, including AR-15's and other related weapons plus numerous other non-firearm 'tools' that Democratic legislators claim could make a semi-automatic weapon more deadly. These even include some sights and scopes for rifles.

HB 1240 was rejected by the House when it came back from the Senate because of several amendments to the bill. These included allowing active or retired military persons who move to WA to keep possession of banned weapons; according to The Center Square:

"Another amendment would have allowed gun dealers to sell or transfer weapons banned under the bill for up to 90 days after the law takes effect"

This one was also dropped prior to the Senate Vote on Wednesday afternoon. The bill goes into effect immediately once it is signed by Gov. Inslee. It will ban the sale, marketing, manufacture, or otherwise taking possession of any of the 'banned' items listed. However, it does not have any effect on persons who already own one of the banned weapons or items.

Democratic legislators claim, including Senator Patty Kuderer, that mass shootings are the "preeminent issue of our time."

However, The Center Square reports mass shootings made up only 2 percent of all murders and homicides between 2015 and 2021, and data from Harborview Medical Center's Firearm Injury and Research Program shows 74 percent of gun-related deaths in WA state involve suicide. 

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The Harborview data shows suicides outnumber other gun deaths in every WA county except Yakima.