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Initiative 1639 would alter state laws on firearms purchases

October 24, 2018 by Methow Valley News

Initiative 1639 would change state laws regarding firearms. Some changes relate only to semiautomatic assault rifles, other changes would apply to other firearms as well. The following summary of I-1639 is based on information from the Washington Voters Guide and the nonpartisan League of Women Voters.

Initiative 1639 would:

• Require increased background checks and proof of firearm safety training for purchasers of semiautomatic assault rifles;

• Set an age limit of 21 to buy a pistol or semiautomatic assault rifle, make it illegal to sell or transfer a semiautomatic assault rifle to a person under age 21, and prohibit a person aged 18-21 from possessing a semiautomatic assault rifle except at the person’s residence, business, or property;

• Require dealers to wait at least 10 days before delivering an assault rifle and prohibit non-residents from buying a semiautomatic assault rifle in Washington;

• Change some laws that apply only to pistols and apply them to semiautomatic assault rifles as well, including restrictions on delivery when a buyer has an outstanding arrest warrant;

• Allow a fee of up to $25 on purchasers of a semiautomatic assault rifle to offset costs of implementing the initiative;

• Provide that a person who fails to securely store a firearm would be guilty of a felony if a person who is legally ineligible to possess a firearm uses it to cause personal injury or death. The penalty would not apply in some situations, such as if the firearm was in a gun safe or other locked storage designed to prevent unauthorized use.

• Require firearm dealers to offer to sell or give purchasers a secure gun storage device or trigger lock, and to post warnings advising buyers of potential criminal prosecution for unsecured storage of firearms;

• Require development of a process to verify that people who have acquired pistols or semiautomatic assault rifles remain eligible to possess a firearm.

Supporters of I-1639 argue that:

• Assault weapons have been used in five of the last six school shootings, and 80 percent of school shooters obtained guns from their own home or that of a relative or friend. The initiative’s gun secure gun storage requirements will keep assault weapons out of the wrong hands;

• Background checks will keep weapons out of the hands of known criminals and people with mental illnesses;

• Soldiers in the U.S. military are required to be trained to handle firearms, yet current law allows anyone in Washington to buy an assault weapon without training or additional screening;

• Studies indicate that waiting periods for weapons purchases decrease homicides and suicides and other impulsive acts of violence;

• Raising the age to 21 for ownership of an assault weapon would bring Washington law in accord with laws in at least a dozen states. Shootings at Parkland, Sandy Hook and Columbine were perpetrated by people younger than 21.

Opponents of I-1639 argue that:

• Requiring gun owners to lock up their firearms or face possible criminal charges means that the weapons would not be accessible for self-defense in an emergency. The U.S. Supreme invalidated a similar gun storage law;

• Waiting periods assume gun purchasers have mental illness or impulse control problems;

• Washington’s 18-20-year-old residents are allowed to vote, purchase a home or serve in the military, but I-1639 would prevent them from purchasing a pistol or semiautomatic assault rifle;

• Background checks are ineffective because illegal gun dealers do not use them, and guns can be acquired through private transfer;

• Handguns, not rifles, are used in the majority of crimes committed using a firearm in Washington. I-1639 targets all semiautomatic rifles, including hunting rifles and target shooting rifles that are used for self-defense and hunting.

Filed Under: NEWS Tagged With: Elections

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