National Rifle Association (NRA) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) have filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a new Washington state law which bans assault weapons. The law in question prohibits the sale, manufacture, and import of assault weapons. The bill passed the Senate with a vote of 27-21 and was signed into law by Washington’s Democratic Governor, on Tuesday. “No one needs an AR-15 to protect your family. You only need it to kill other families,” remarked the governor.
Washington State Passes Bill Banning Assault Weapons
“It’s outrageous that states continue to pass these unconstitutional bans. But rest assured, the NRA will continue to fight each one. This new law is blatantly unconstitutional. The Supreme Court long-ago ruled that states cannot ban firearms that are in common use,” Aoibheann Cline, Washington state director of the NRA, said.
“Instead of arresting, prosecuting and punishing criminals,” the governor is “focusing on restricting the rights of law-abiding Americans who use these rifles for a variety of lawful purpose,” added Cline.
According to Fox:
The NRA’s lobbying arm, NRA-ILA, filed the suit Tuesday – which specifically targets the ban on semiautomatic firearms – in the Eastern District of Washington on behalf of individual plaintiffs and the National Shooting Sports Foundation. The suit names Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Washington State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste as defendants.
The NRA described HB 1240 as the “worst of such schemes in the country,” that surpasses gun restrictions in California, citing how the law bans “nearly every modern semiautomatic rifle” that also extends to some semiautomatic handguns and shotguns. The NRA noted that semiautomatic firearms are owned by tens of millions of Americans for self-defense, hunting and recreational purposes.
The law puts Washington in line with nine other states and Washington, D.C., which have also enacted similar legislation to curb the proliferation of assault weapons. The bill, however, does not ban possession of assault weapons for Washington state residents, and includes exceptions for law enforcement and those who have inherited such guns..
