A federal judge has upheld Washington's new law banning the sale of assault weapons, siding with Attorney General Bob Ferguson. This marks the fourth time a court has ruled in favor of maintaining the ban amid ongoing legal challenges.
U.S. District Court Judge Mary Dimke denied a request for a preliminary injunction to block House Bill 1240 in the case Banta, et al. v. Ferguson, et al., which was filed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation and other plaintiffs.
Last year, three similar attempts to block the law were also unsuccessful. In September 2023, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Allyson Zipp rejected a request for a preliminary injunction in Guardian Arms v. Inslee. Earlier that June, Judge Zipp also denied a motion for a temporary restraining order in the same case. Additionally, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Bryan rejected another request to block the law in Hartford, et al. v. Ferguson, et al.
Ferguson and Governor Jay Inslee had jointly requested House Bill 1240, which took effect immediately upon being signed on April 25, 2023. Legal challenges commenced on the same day.
"Once again, we defeated the gun lobby’s attempt to block the ban on the sale of assault weapons," said Ferguson. "This common-sense reform protects Washingtonians by restricting access to weapons of war that devastate entire communities. We will continue defending the law in court."
Ferguson first proposed such a ban in 2017 following a mass shooting at a Mukilteo house party in 2016 where an assailant used a military-style assault rifle and high-capacity magazine.
The new legislation prohibits the sale, manufacture, and import of assault weapons within Washington state but includes exemptions for law enforcement and military use. It does not restrict possession of these weapons.
Washington is now one of ten states with similar bans on assault weapons, with multiple federal courts upholding these laws as constitutional.
The Attorney General’s Office has successfully defended various firearms laws from challenges posed by gun rights groups while also enforcing firearms safety regulations through litigation.