Senators expected to vote on bump stock ban

OLYMPIA, Wash. — State senators in Olympia are expected to vote on a ban on devices that allow for rapid firing of semiautomatic rifles, otherwise known as bump stocks.

It’s one of five proposals to tighten gun laws in Washington state.

Senate Bill 5992 would make it illegal to own, sell, purchase or make bump stocks.

The State Senate Law & Justice Committee will vote on whether the bill will make it to debate on the Senate floor.

Those who oppose the bill say bump stocks often lower a weapon’s accuracy and that the language in the bill covers other trigger modifications that should still be legal.

Those who support the bill, like Governor Jay Inslee, say they make semiautomatic weapons more lethal.

Bump stocks also have an association with the deadly Las Vegas concert shooting on Oct. 1, where they were used to fire weapons faster.

One of the people who will testify in support of the bill is the mother of a Las Vegas shooting victim who said an FBI agent investigating the case told her a bump stock allowed the shooter to fire 9 rounds a second from an AR-15 rifle that killed her daughter, as compared to 45 rounds a minute without a bump stock, according to the Spokesman-Review.

Another bill, SB 5444, proposes that anyone purchasing or selling "assault weapons or large capacity magazines" to have the same state background check required to buy a handgun instead of the standard federal check to buy a rifle.

SB 5463 would require gun dealers to offer to sell or give the purchaser a locked box, or device that prevents a gun from firing.   It's companion bill, SHB 1122, concerns the crime of reckless endangerment when a child gains access to a firearm.

SB 6146 would allow cities, towns and counties to have more control over where guns are allowed.

Cox Media Group