Shelved since 2018, this Washington gun law may finally be implemented soon
State officials have decided to push forward a voter-approved measure requiring annual background checks of pistol and semiautomatic rifle owners.
Gov. Jay Inslee's administration is now working to implement a 2018 voter-approved firearms background-check law that Washington officials had quietly set aside due to logistical and legal hurdles.
The administration's reversal comes after a September report by Crosscut documenting how state officials in 2020 concluded it wasn't cost-effective or efficient to implement the new law requiring annual background checks on people who own pistols and semiautomatic rifles. A spokesperson for the governor's office went further, saying in September that "there is not a way to legally conduct the check under our current system."
State officials have decided to push forward a voter-approved measure requiring annual background checks of pistol and semiautomatic rifle owners.
Gov. Jay Inslee's administration is now working to implement a 2018 voter-approved firearms background-check law that Washington officials had quietly set aside due to logistical and legal hurdles.
The administration's reversal comes after a September report by Crosscut documenting how state officials in 2020 concluded it wasn't cost-effective or efficient to implement the new law requiring annual background checks on people who own pistols and semiautomatic rifles. A spokesperson for the governor's office went further, saying in September that "there is not a way to legally conduct the check under our current system."