Washington state Senate passes assault-style weapons ban

The Washington state Senate has passed a bill to ban the sale and manufacture of assault weapons, bringing the state one step closer to becoming one of the few in the country that have instituted general assault weapon bans.

The bill, which must now return to the House for concurrence on some of the amendments made to the legislation, would ban the “manufacture, importation, distribution, sale, or offer for sale of any assault weapon.”

It would take effect immediately if signed by the governor and ban at least 60 different types of assault weapons.

The legislation provides a number of notable exceptions to the ban.

The new rules would not apply to weapons that are already possessed by a person in the state or those who inherit weapons. It also would allow law enforcement agencies to continue to purchase such weapons.

Even with the exceptions, the regulations would institute one of the most comprehensive statewide bans on assault weapons in the country.

The move by Washington lawmakers in the state Senate to pass the bill comes as the debate over gun control in the U.S. continues to march on at the national level in the wake of several mass shootings in states like Tennessee and Kentucky.

On Monday, four people were killed in a shooting in Louisville, Ky.

Republicans in the state Senate attempted to introduce a number of amendments to the bill that would have restricted the strength of the ban, including an amendment that would have removed the clause that would put the bill into immediate effect if it is signed by the governor.

But the Senate did adopt a few amendments, which makes it necessary for the bill to be sent back to the House, where it was originally introduced, for lawmakers to give agreement to the changes.

The adjustments include exceptions for military retirees and active duty military members and allows gun dealers a window to get rid of their existing stock.

The bill was introduced at the order of Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D), who has made gun control and preventing gun violence one of his main policy pushes. 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.