Washington state Senate passes bill banning production, sale, and importing of assault weapons

Lawmakers in Washington state have passed a bill that would prohibit the sale, manufacture and import of assault weapons in the state.

“Both chambers of the Washington State Legislature have now approved a historic ban on the sale of assault weapons in Washington state,” Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a press release Saturday shortly after Democrats in the state Senate successfully pushed through H.B. 1240.

“The Senate today put public safety above the interest of the gun lobby,” Ferguson added. “The devastation of mass shootings extends far beyond the casualties and injuries. Mass shootings traumatize entire communities. We must stop selling these weapons of war in Washington.”

The assault weapon ban passed the Senate by a vote of 27-21 and will now head back to the House since it was amended in the Senate. The bill will then go to the desk of Washington’s Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee who is expected to sign it.

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Inslee took to Twitter shortly after the vote and thanked Democrats for passing the legislation.

One of the amendments made in the Senate allows gun makers to sell inventory they had before January 1, 2023 to out of state buyers for 90 days after the bill takes effect.

Once signed, Washington will join nine other states and Washington, D.C. who have also passed similar legislation. 

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The bill will not ban Washington state residents from possessing assault weapons and provides exceptions for law enforcement and those who have inherited the guns, KNDO-TV reported.

The legislation moved forward shortly after President Biden reiterated his call for a nationwide assault weapons ban similar to the one he pushed for in 1994.

“I am determined to once again ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines,” the president tweeted last month. “I led that fight in 1994. For the ten years it was in place, mass shootings went down.”