A Washington judge has ruled against the state’s so-called “high-capacity” magazine ban, determining it to be unconstitutional.
In his ruling, Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Gary Bashor determined that the 2022 state law prohibiting magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds violates both the state constitution and the Second Amendment. Following his decision, the judge issued an injunction preventing the state from enforcing the ban.
Judge Bashor referenced the recent Supreme Court case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, where the Supreme Court set a new standard that state gun regulations must coincide with the nation’s “historical tradition of firearm regulation.”
Bashor found that Washington failed to demonstrate a historical law adopted during the early years of the nation’s founding that would justify a ban on gun magazines over 10 rounds. Consequently, he deemed the law unconstitutional.
“There was no appetite to limit gun rights by the Founders. Though the specific technology available today may not have been envisioned, the Founders expected technological advancements,” Bashor wrote in his decision. “The result is few, if any, historical analogue laws by which a state can justify a modern firearms regulation.”
Following the ban, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson promptly filed an emergency appeal to the state Supreme Court, according to the Associated Press. In his appeal, Ferguson expressed his worry that a temporary pause on the magazine ban would likely “unleash a flood” of high-capacity magazines, as many Washington residents would rush to purchase them while the law was not being enforced.
“Every court in Washington and across the country to consider challenges to a ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines under the U.S. or Washington Constitution has either rejected that challenge or been overruled. This law is constitutional,” Attorney General Ferguson claimed.
State Supreme Court Commissioner Michael Johnston granted the attorney general’s appeal, emphasizing the debatable nature of the factual and legal issues involved and the public safety concerns regarding the proliferation of large-capacity magazines.
The ban will remain in effect until the appeal process is completed.
