High-capacity magazine issue brought back to life by state House
The Washington House of Representatives is trying to pass a new bill that would ban high-capacity magazines.
HB 2240 died when the House missed a Feb. 19 deadline to approve bills in the chamber where they originated.
But the sponsor, state Rep. Javier Valdez, filed a new bill, HB 2947, and added a fiscal provision that allows the Legislature to consider it.
The bill would restrict firearm ammunition magazines to 15 bullets or less and create a high-capacity magazine buy-back program that the State Patrol would operate. The measure also would eliminate tax breaks for the sale of precious metals and bullion, with the proceeds used for the buy-back program.
At a public hearing Tuesday, both sides of the gun debate packed the committee room.
James Barrick, a Kirkland resident opposed to the bill, said: “I don’t see this as a budget item issue. It’s an intricate manipulation of the process to introduce a magazine buy-back so that it makes it a budget issue. This ghost appropriations bill is just here to revive an already-squelched bill that has gone through the [House] Judiciary Committee.”
Phil Watson, a lobbyist with the Firearms Policy Coalition, spoke in opposition to the bill.
“An effective self-defense should not only be available to those who are skilled, physically capable or a member of a privileged class. Unlike criminals, who usually spend time planning their crimes, people who use guns defensively rarely carry spare magazines, obviously making effectiveness even more a function of the would-be victim’s skill,” he said.
Citing a 2015 study by the International Journal of Police Science and Management, Watson said novice shooters have a 39 percent probability of hitting their target, compared to 49 percent for experts.
“A five- to 15-round magazine would severely limit the availability of victims to defend themselves, especially against multiple assailants,” he said.
Seattle resident Emily Cantrell, who survived the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas at a large outdoor concert, urged the committee to approve the bill.
“People served best by high-capacity magazines are mass shooters. In a matter of 11 minutes, a lone gunman used an arsenal of weapons equipped with 100-round magazines to shoot more than 500 people, killing 58 of them.
“High-capacity magazines, paired with a bump stock, allowed the shooter to fire 90 shots in 10 seconds. The chaos was unlike anything you could imagine. I’ve heard war veterans compare it to being on a battlefield with no way to fight back. We were sitting ducks,” Cantrell added.
Cantrell said she was encouraged that the new bill includes a buy-back program, saying that “can help reduce the total number of these lethal magazines in our communities.”
Margaret Heldring, a lobbyist and co-chair of Grandmothers Against Gun Violence, cited statistics that there were about 400 mass shootings last year in the United States.
“While this can be hard to realize, even believe, it is a sobering call to action. Why the increase? The answer lies in large part to the too easy access to high-capacity magazines. As a family psychologist, I confirm that their damage and destruction go beyond the tragic loss of life and injury. They frighten many and have altered our sense of safety. We are beginning to see the devastating consequences, including suicide,” she said.
House Democrats said Republicans killed HB 2240 by attaching 120 amendments to it. Because of a shortage of floor time, the bill never received a vote.
The title of HB 2947 is about 400 words, which would make it difficult for more than a few amendments to be offered.
On Tuesday afternoon, House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, said she didn’t know if the bill would be approved by the House Finance Committee. If it does, the measure goes to the House.
“There are policies that are important to the Senate. There are policies that are important to the House. And sometimes you don’t send them over if the other body isn’t going to move them. And other times we do, because your people feel like it’s really important,” she told reporters.
State Sen. Patty Kuderer, D-Bellevue, was the sponsor of SB 6077, which would have restricted firearm ammunition magazines to 10 bullets or less.
That bill also died at the Feb. 19 deadline as Kuderer said there weren’t enough votes in the Senate for passage. 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 said Tuesday if the House sends HB 2947 to the Senate, she will try hard to get the votes needed for passage.
“I will do everything I can do in my power to see that it becomes law because the majority of Washingtonians want us to lead on this issue and they want us to pass this bill,” she said.
Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, was dubious.
“If they didn’t have the votes before, how would a tax increase make it any easier?” Schoesler said. He referred to the proposal to eliminate tax breaks for the sale of precious metals and bullion to fund the magazine buy-back program.
This story was originally published February 25, 2020 at 2:12 PM.