Washington State Passes I-1639

By Tom Knighton

I’ve got some good friends in Washington state, and one thing I’ve heard from some of them was their concerns over I-1639 possibly passing.

The ballot measure would usher in a whole host of new gun regulations in a state that has something of an identity crisis when it comes to guns. On one hand, it has preemption and a Shall Issue law. On the other hand, it has universal background checks.

Of course, that was before yesterday.

Today, I suspect my friends are not happy campers.

Despite growing national support for stricter gun laws, Washington was the only state with a gun control measure on the ballot this election. Its passage would make Washington’s gun regulations some of the strictest in the nation.

I-1639 raises the minimum age to buy a semi-automatic firearm from 18 to 21. It also requires buyers to pass a more thorough background check, go through a 10-day waiting period and complete a training course. The suite of new regulations also contains a “dangerous access prevention” law that increases liability for gun owners who don’t securely store their weapons. If a weapon ends up in the hands of someone banned from owning a gun, for example, the …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms