AMGOA Staff
Pennsylvania


Posts: 1,429

The Washington state Supreme Court has ruled that the proposed gun-regulations measure, Initiative 1639, will appear on November's election ballot.

The decision clears the way for a statewide vote on a sweeping proposal that, among other things, would raise the legal age to buy semi-automatic rifles to 21.

Friday's ruling comes after a Thurston County judge earlier this month blocked the proposed initiative after Alan Gottlieb of the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation and the National Rifle Association (NRA) challenged the legality of the campaign's signature-gathering petitions.

Gun-rights advocates had argued the petitions violated state law because they did not include text formatting such as underlines and strike-throughs to demonstrate how exactly the initiative would change the language of existing gun laws.

But a four-page order released Friday and signed by Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst reversed the lower court's ruling.

The measure would make several changes to the law. Aside from raising the purchase age to 21 for semi-automatic rifle purchases, it would mandate training, enhanced background checks and waiting periods in order to obtain them.

It would also require owners to keep firearms secured at home. Gun owners could face misdemeanor or felony charges in some circumstances if someone prohibited from possessing a weapon accessed the firearm.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/washington-supreme-court-puts-gun-regulations-measure-i-1639-back-on-november-ballot/