Washington Gov. Signs ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban, Faces Immediate Lawsuit

Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed a Washington state “assault weapons” ban into law Tuesday, and the Second Amendment Foundation immediately filed a lawsuit against the ban.

On April 9, 2023, Breitbart News pointed out that the text of the ban claims “assault weapons” are not firearms used for self-defense.

KING 5 reported Inslee signed the ban, contained in House Bill 1240, into law. The law bars the manufacture or sale of “assault weapons” in the state of Washington and also bans any importation of the firearms.

Dealers are allowed 90 days to sell their current inventories of guns, which Democrats describe as “assault weapons.”

A lawsuit was filed against the ban as soon as Inslee signed it. The suit is brought by the Second Amendment Foundation, along with the Firearms Policy Coalition, Sporting Systems, a Hazel Dell retailer, and three private citizens—Brett Bass, Douglas Mitchell, and Lawrence Hartford.

Second Amendment Foundation Founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb commented on the suit, saying, “The State has enacted a flat prohibition on the manufacture, sale, import and distribution of many types of firearms, inaccurately labeled as ‘assault weapons,’ which are owned by millions of ordinary citizens across the country.”

“The state has criminalized a common and important means of self-defense, the modern semiautomatic rifle,” he added. “The state has put politics ahead of constitutional rights, and is penalizing law-abiding citizens while this legislation does nothing to arrest and prosecute criminals who misuse firearms in defiance of all existing gun control laws. It is absurd.”

The case is Harford v. Ferguson, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. AWR Hawkins holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.