Washington state lawmakers pass ban on semi-automatic rifles

Lawmakers in Washington state have passed a bill that would ban assault weapons in the state, with some exceptions, putting it on the verge of becoming one of the few states that have broad restrictions on the weapons.

The bill, which was given final approval by the House on Wednesday after passing the Senate earlier this month, places a ban on at least 60 types of assault weapons and would go into effect immediately with the signature of Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D).

The legislation provides notable exceptions to the ban, including not affecting the weapons that are owned by people in the state or those who inherit them. It also would allow law enforcement agencies to continue to purchase such weapons.

Inslee, who voted for a national assault weapon ban when he was in Congress in the 1990s, said he intends to sign the bill.

“WA does not and will not accept gun violence as normal,” Inslee said on Twitter after the bill passed. “Banning the sale of assault weapons, our bill to enact training requirements and a wait period, and the bill to improve accountability of manufacturers and retailers will save lives.”

Even with the exceptions built into the bill, it would be one of the most comprehensive statewide bans on assault weapons in the country.

The move to pass the bill in Washington comes after several headline-making mass shootings in the U.S. that have included the use of assault weapons, including a shooting at a private school in Tennessee earlier this year that left three children and three adults dead and an attack at a bank in Kentucky that killed five.

There have been 165 mass shootings in the first 110 days of 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

The signing of the bill would see Washington join nine other states — including California and New York, and the District of Columbia — that have broad restrictions on assault weapons, according to Giffords Law Center.