High-profile gun bills die in Legislature despite support from Inslee and Ferguson

A month before the 60-day legislative session began, Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson urged lawmakers to combat mass shootings by approving bills to ban high-capacity magazines and the sale of assault weapons.

“This is the time to take action on common-sense measures that will save lives,” Inslee said. “We should be making it harder for those who want to inflict mass violence and destruction upon innocent people.”

It didn’t happen. The bills died at Wednesday’s deadline for the Senate and House to pass non-fiscal policy bills that originated in their respective chambers.

Ferguson said in a statement: “The mass shooter in Dayton (Ohio) used an assault weapon and a 100-round, double-drum magazine. Those are legal in Washington state. The people remain way ahead of the politicians when it comes to passing common-sense legislation to protect our communities from mass shootings.”

At a news conference Thursday, Inslee said: “I think Washingtonians can rightfully be disappointed that the Legislature has failed to act on gun safety legislation. We’re not done with this issue in Washington. The public is behind action to provide safety against gun violence.”

State Sen. Patty Kuderer, who sponsored SB 6077 to restrict firearm ammunition magazines to 10 bullets or less, said there weren’t enough votes in the Senate for passage. She declined to offer a vote count, but said it was “close.” Democrats hold a 29-20 majority in the Senate, but their effective control is 28-21 because Democrat Tim Sheldon caucuses and usually votes with the Republicans.

Kuderer, a Bellevue Democrat, said Washington residents may have to take action themselves.

“I think the public needs to have even more of a demand for this and maybe this needs to come in the form of a citizen initiative like 1639, which is unfortunate because they elect us to lead and make hard decisions. That’s not a hard one for me because I’ve been studying gun violence for almost 20 years,” Kuderer said.

“For me, the evidence is overwhelming, but I understand that my colleagues don’t all view it the same way and they need to vote their districts,” she said.

Kuderer referred to Initiative 1639, which voters approved by a large margin in 2018. The initiative raised the age to buy semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21. Those who want to buy one must pass an enhanced background check, prove they have completed a firearms-training course, and must wait 10 business days before they can take possession of the weapon.

At the press conference on Thursday, Inslee said he would be “fully supportive” of an effort to put an initiative on the ballot to ban high-capacity magazines and the sale of assault weapons in Washington. He also said the Legislature could take action in the session that begins in January, 2021, perhaps on the first day.

A vocal supporter of gun rights said the failure of the high-profile gun control bills was a reflection of where the state’s residents stand on the issue.

“I think what we’re seeing by the Legislature not pushing those bills forward is a lot of firearms owners who have contacted their elected officials and said, ‘Hey, this is how this is going to negatively affect me,’ “ said Jane Milhans, a University Place resident who survived a home invasion by two men several years ago.

“We don’t want to be victims of crime, but we don’t like being punished for the actions of criminals. We want the ability to protect ourselves,” added Milhans, who is a certified firearms instructor.

House and Senate committees approved bills to ban high-capacity magazines, but they never made it to the floors of the chambers where final votes are taken.

Republicans opposed to the measure placed 120 amendments on HB 2240. House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox of Yelm on Wednesday didn’t take credit for blocking it.

“It always takes both sides to kill a bill. We made it plain it was going to be a difficult debate, and (House Democrats) decided that they didn’t want to run it,” he said.

At a press conference Thursday, House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, said House Democrats had enough votes to pass the bill.

“The amendments that the Republicans offered were not about debating the policy, not one bit. They were about killing the bill, by whatever means necessary,” she said.

She cited state Rep. Jesse Young’s Facebook page. The Gig Harbor Republican posted a picture of himself in the House chamber with the message: “How do you stop a bad bill while in the minority? HUNDREDS of good amendments and the willingness to Fight!!”

“That was all done just with the intent to kill the bill,” Jinkins said.

When asked why the House didn’t take up the high-capacity magazine bill earlier in the session, Jinkins said House members each could have spoken for 10 minutes about an amendment and 10 minutes about the final vote. That would have chewed up about two weeks’ worth of floor time, she said.

“The frustration is the House Republicans have said over and over again this session that, being in the minority, all they have is their ability to debate,” said House Majority Leader Pat Sullivan, D-Covington. “On this bill, it’s clear they didn’t want the debate.”

The bills to ban the sales of assault weapons never got out of committees. A House committee held a public hearing on HB 2241, which also banned high-capacity magazines. Its companion bill, SB 6076, didn’t get a hearing in the Senate.

Ferguson also requested the Legislature to pass a bill adding background checks on ammunition sales, in addition to other safety measures to keep ammunition out of the hands of dangerous individuals. That bill, HB 2519, also died. A House committee held a hearing, but it didn’t get a vote.

That doesn’t mean, however, that the Democratic-controlled House and Senate didn’t take action on firearms bills.

The House approved:

• HB 2467, to create a centralized background check system for gun purchases that the State Patrol would administer. The system currently is split among hundreds of local law enforcement agencies.
• HB 2305, which enables people who are 60 years old or over to seek a court protection order requiring people who have abused, neglected or exploited them to surrender their firearms. The sponsor, state Rep. Beth Doglio, D-Olympia, said the bill was closing a loophole in state law.
• HB 2623, which prohibits the possession of a firearm by those convicted of unlawful aiming or discharging of a firearm, or animal cruelty.

The Senate approved:

• SB 5434, to extend the ban on the possession of firearms on K-12 school property to child care facilities.
• SB 6288, to create the Office of Firearm Safety and Violence Prevention in the state Department of Commerce. The office will oversee a grant program to support initiatives to reduce gun violence.

“This is going to be a very significant year for gun safety and if you look at the two years of this biennium, it will be very dramatic in the steps that we’re taking to keep the people of Washington state safe,” said Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, D-Spokane.

The legislative session ends March 12.

This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 5:00 AM.