Washington State Democrats Push Ban on 51 Specific Firearms

Washington state Democrats are pushing legislation that will ban 51 specific firearms, including a secondary ban on rimfire rifles with a total length of less than 30 inches.

The legislation, SB 5217, is sponsored by state Sens. Patty Kuderer (D), Manka Dhinga (D), Marko Liias (D), Joe Ngyugen (D), Jamie Pedersen (D), Claire Wilson (D), and others.

The bill bans 51 specific guns and also contains an additional ban for any “semiautomatic, centerfire, or rimfire rifle that has an
overall length of less than 30 inches.”

If the “semiautomatic, centerfire, or rimfire rifle” is longer than 30 inches, it would still be banned if were the result of “a conversion kit, part, or combination of parts, from which an assault weapon can be assembled if those parts are in the possession or under the control of the same person.”

The bill also bans “copycat” weapons, which it defines as “a semiautomatic, centerfire firearm that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and has one or more of the following”:

• A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon, unless the firearm is a pistol as defined in this section;

• Thumbhole stock.

• Folding or telescoping stock.

• Forward pistol, vertical, angled, or other grip designed for use by the nonfiring hand to improve control during a high rate of fire.

• Flash suppressor, flash guard, flash eliminator, flash hider, sound suppressor, silencer, or any item designed to reduce the visual or audio signature of the firearm.

• Muzzle brake, recoil compensator, or any item designed to be affixed to the barrel to reduce recoil or muzzle rise.

• Threaded barrel designed to attach a flash suppressor, sound suppressor, muzzle break, or similar item; or

• Grenade launcher or flare launcher.

SB 5217 is only one of six gun controls currently being pushed by Washington state Democrats.

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. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.