By Jim Brunner, Seattle Times political reporter
The state Senate on Saturday approved a ban on the sale of assault weapons in Washington, setting up the measure to go to Gov. Jay Inslee for a signature in the final weeks of the legislative session.
After more than four hours of debate, the Senate approved the assault weapon ban, House Bill 1240, on a 27-21 vote. The proposal passed the state House last month on a 55-42 vote.
Because the bill was amended in the Senate, it must now go back to the House for a vote to concur on the final language. Inslee has expressed his support for the ban and is expected to sign it once the House gives final approval.
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During the floor debate on the ban, which has been proposed but failed to pass for the past several years in the Legislature, the majority Democrats pointed to the unending string of mass shootings carried out by people using AR-15s and other assault-style weapons.
“We have to take stock in the common denominator in all of these tragedies. … When we’re talking about mass shootings, and the killing of people quickly and without warning, we’re talking about assault weapons. And that’s why we’re here today. We’re here to say enough is enough,” said state Sen. Patty Kuderer, D-Bellevue, who brought up the recent massacres at schools in Uvalde, Texas, and Nashville, Tenn.
Republicans blamed mental health problems and moral decay for mass shootings and said the ban would only punish law-abiding citizens who own semiautomatic guns for hunting, recreation, and self-defense.
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