Washington state court battle puts high capacity magazine sales on hold

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — In Washington state, a showdown is unfolding in the courts over gun control.

Initially, a ban on high-capacity magazines was ruled unconstitutional. However, that ruling was blocked Tuesday by the Washington Supreme Court as the state appeals the decision.

This all started in 2022 with a Washington law banning sales and manufacturing of ammunition magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds. Despite this, a Kelso store kept selling them after the ban started. It all culminated when the state attorney general sued Gator’s Custom Guns last year.

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However, that was far from the end of the story since the gun store owner challenged the legality of the law. As a result, Cowlitz County Superior Judge Gary Bashor ruled the ban violates federal Second Amendment rights and Washington state’s constitution. He issued an injunction to stop the state from enforcing the ban.

The Washington state attorney general quickly headed to the state supreme court and got an emergency stay Monday night, citing public safety as one of the issues. The stay means the Washington state ban on high-capacity magazines remains in effect for now while the court battle goes on.

“We have to abide by the stay. That’s the lawful response. And that’s what we’re going to do,“ said the gun store owner, Walter Wentz.

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Bob Ferguson, the Washington state attorney general who filed the stay, said he expects the restriction on the sale of large-capacity magazines to ultimately win out.

“There’s agreement all across the country from courts that these are constitutional,” Ferguson said. “And so I expect it to be, like I said, overturned. Now whether or not the United States Supreme Court decides to weigh in on this issue, nobody knows that.”

Similar legislation has been tied up in court in Oregon ever since voter-approved Measure 114 back in 2022. A federal judge ruled banning large magazines is federally illegal. However, there is a ruling from a Harney County judge that a ban violates Oregon’s state constitution. So for now an Oregon ban on selling high-capacity magazines is on hold.

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