Judge lets weapon ban stand

Jun. 26—OLYMPIA — Washington state's ban on certain types of gun will stay in place, a Thurston County Superior Court ruled Friday.

"It's another setback, but we're gonna keep pushing forward," said Guardian Arms owner Bruce Davis. "That's all we can do."

Judge Allyson Zipp, in an oral ruling, rejected a petition by Guardian Arms — a firearms dealer in Moses Lake — among other plaintiffs, to block implementation of HB 1240, sometimes called the Assault Weapons Ban, according to a press release from Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson. Zipp is expected to issue a written ruling on Monday.

HB 1240 was signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee on April 25, and the Guardian Arms filed its petition the same day. The petition asserted that the law was unconstitutionally vague in its definition of "assault weapon," and that the weapons it prohibited were not commonly used in the mass shootings the law was intended to prevent.

On June 6, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Bryan also rejected a request to block the law in a separate case, Hartford, et al. v. Ferguson, et al., the release noted.

"This is our second victory against the gun lobby's attempt to block the ban on the sale of assault weapons," Ferguson wrote in the release. "My legal team remains undefeated against the gun lobby in court. This common-sense gun reform will save lives by restricting access to the preferred weapon of mass shooters."

Joel Martin may be reached at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.