SEATTLE – The Washington chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today applauded Governor Jay Inslee for signing Senate Bill 5992, legislation that will make it illegal for anyone to manufacture or sell bump stocks. Starting in July 2019, the law will make it illegal for anyone to own a bump stock in the state.
Last year, 58 people died and nearly 500 more were injured in the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. The Las Vegas shooter had rigged his guns with bump stocks, devices that enabled the shooter to fire more rapidly, approaching automatic fire. Bump stocks skirt existing law, since fully automatic firearms have long been tightly regulated.
Immediately following the Las Vegas shooting, Republicans and Democrats alike signaled they were interested in congressional action to prohibit bump stocks. However, that bipartisan enthusiasm quickly evaporated after the NRA opposed legislation to address bump stocks and proposed a lengthy regulatory review instead. Thankfully, leadership in Washington State stepped in where Congress failed to lead.
STATEMENT FROM ZACH ELMORE, A MEMBER OF THE EVERYTOWN SURVIVOR NETWORK, WHOSE SISTER ALICIA JOHNSTON WAS SHOT AND SURVIVED THE LAS VEGAS MASS SHOOTING:
“It was more than extremely frustrating that in the wake of largest mass shooting in modern American history in Las Vegas, where my sister was shot and injured, Congress did nothing. Prohibiting the sale of bump stocks is a common-sense solution to the availability of an accessory that made it possible for one man to kill 58 and injure hundreds more. I’m proud that Washington is one of the states to take real action on this issue. Governor Inslee supported this legislation from the beginning and I could not have been happier to watch him sign it today.”
