Gun Rights Groups Sue Over Washington State’s High-Capacity Magazine Ban

People with firearms at the Washington state capitol during the 'March for Our Rights' pro-gun rally in Olympia, Washington, on April 21, 2018. Jason Redmond/AFP/Getty Images

Several gun rights groups have filed a lawsuit challenging Washington state’s new ban on sales of so-called high-capacity ammunition magazines for rifles and handguns, which the law prohibiting their distribution defines as ones that hold more than 10 rounds.

The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and others filed their complaint on June 3 (pdf), claiming the ban is unconstitutional and naming a number of Washington state officials as defendants, including Bob Ferguson, the state’s Attorney General.

“The State of Washington has criminalized one of the most common and important means by which its citizens can exercise their fundamental right of self-defense,” the groups wrote in the complaint.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Ferguson’s media representative with a request for comment on the suit.

A magazine is loaded into a Sig Sauer P320 compact semi-auto pistol at a gun shop in Richmond, Va., on Jan. 13, 2020. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee signed the prohibition into law earlier this year, with SB 5078 set to enter into force on July 1.

The law bans manufacturing, importing, distributing, selling, or offering for sale magazines that can hold more than ten rounds of ammunition.

The gun-rights groups want the law overturned.

“We’re asking the court to declare Washington’s ban on original capacity magazines to be unconstitutional under the Second and Fourteenth amendments,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb.

“We want an injunction against the state because this ban criminalizes something that is common in a majority of states, and also leaves law-abiding Washington citizens more vulnerable to attack by ruthless criminals,” he added.

Gottlieb disputes the definition of a high-capacity magazine as one that holds more than ten rounds of ammo.

“Many of the most popular handguns and modern semiautomatic rifles come standard with magazines that hold more than ten rounds,” Gottlieb said, adding that “there is no reliable proof that restrictions on new manufacturing or sales of such magazines will reduce violent crime.”

An attendee holds a Glock Ges.m.b.H. pistol during the National Rifle Association (NRA) Annual Meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center, in Houston, Texas on May 28, 2022. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

He added that he believes SB 5078 “unfairly and arbitrarily penalizes honest citizens for crimes they didn’t commit, in the hopes of preventing crimes they wouldn’t dream of committing.”

It comes as President Joe Biden and Democrats are positioning gun control as a key issue ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

In a June 3 tweet, Biden called for a range of gun control measures, including strengthening background checks, enacting red flag laws, repealing gunmakers’ liability protections, and banning high-capacity magazines.

Inslee, who signed Washington state’s high-capacity magazine ban into law on March 23, shared Biden’s tweet on June 3, adding his own pro-gun control comment.

“Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. These are commonsense measures that will save lives. At long last, do the right thing, Congress,” Inslee wrote.