‘They did it!’: Activists celebrate Washington for passing assault weapons ban

Ten states now ban assault weapons

Anti-gun violence activists praised Washington state on Tuesday for passing an assault weapons ban, as a string of high-profile incidents in recent months have brought renewed attention to the persistence of mass shootings in the US involving high-powered weapons.

“THEY DID IT!!!” Shannon Watts, of the group Moms Demand Action wrote on Twitter. “[Governor Jay Inslee] just signed a historic package of gun safety bills into law banning assault weapons, holding the gun industry accountable, requiring waiting periods and promoting secure storage.”

The bill bans the manufacture, distribution, and sale of more than 50 weapons, including AR-15-type rifles, the guns used in numerous mass shootings, as well as semi-automatic rifles less than 30 inches in length.

“Just because they don’t solve all the problems does not mean the state of Washington does not take action,” Govenor Inslee said as he signed the bill. “Inaction against gun violence is unacceptable.”

Democratic officials in the state celebrated the ban.

“Weapons of war like AR-15s and other assault weapons have no place on our streets,” US Senator Patty Murray said in a statement. “Washington state taking action to ban assault weapons and pass other common-sense gun safety measures is incredible and necessary progress—and I’ll keep pushing to do the same nationally.”

Washington joins the nine other states with assault weapons bans: California, Connecticut, Delware, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maryland, Masschusetts, New Jersey, and New York, according to Axios.

The Washington governor also signed two other gun violence bills, one imposing a 10-day waiting period on gun purchases, and another allowing for lawsuits against gun manufacturers, the Associated Press reports.

The White House, which has long (and thus far fruitlessly) advocated for renewing the assault weapons ban Joe Biden helped pass as a senator, praised the effort out of Washington.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday the administration “commends the leadership of Washington Governor Jay Inslee and legislative leaders as well as the advocates, survivors and elected officials who fought for years to make today a reality.”

The Bellevue, Washington-based Second Amendment Foundation quickly challenged the assault weapons ban, filing a federal lawsuit.

“The state has criminalised a common and important means of self-defence, the modern semiautomatic rifle,” the group’s founder Alan M Gottlied said in a statement to the Seattle Times. “The state has put politics ahead of constitutional rights, and is penalising law-abiding citizens while this legislation does nothing to arrest and prosecute criminals who misuse firearms in defiances of all existing gun control laws. It is absurd.”