Gun Groups Challenge Washington State Magazine Ban

Graphic from NRA-ILA which worked to prevent passage of Washington S.B. 5078.

The Washington State legislature has passed a new statute which will prohibit the purchase, sale, or transfer of firearms magazines which hold more than ten (10) rounds. This new law, Washington Senate Bill 5078, goes into effect on July 1, 2022. This new Washington law has a “grandfather” clause that allows current owners of large-capacity mags to retain them. However, no one may transfer such magazines in the state after 7/1/2022.

The Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) plans to file legal actions to challenge the new Washington state magazine bans. The FPC issued this statement:

By enacting the unconstitutional S.B. 5078, the State of Washington has further restricted the fundamental human rights of Washington residents and visitors by banning the transfer and other conduct related to so-called “large capacity” magazines. FPC condemns this latest act of state aggression and will not allow this law to go unchallenged. To that end, FPC Law will be taking aggressive action to fight this immoral law and seek to have it enjoined and declared unconstitutional.

In S.B. 5078, the State banned the manufacture, import, distribution, sale, or offering for sale any large capacity magazine, which is now defined (with some minor exceptions) as ammunition feeding devices with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds of ammunition, or any conversion kit, part, or combination of parts, from which such a device can be assembled if those parts are in possession of or under the control of the same person.

The bill also makes distributing, selling, offering for sale, or facilitating the sale, distribution, or transfer of a large capacity magazine online an unfair or deceptive act or practice or unfair method of competition in the conduct of trade or commerce for purposes of the State’s consumer protection act.

Firearms Policy Coalition Seeks Washington Residents as Plaintiffs
FPC Law, which plans to challenge the new WA state mag ban, is currently looking for potential plaintiffs who are Washington residents residing in one of the following counties: Clallam, Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pierce, San Juan, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Thurston, Wahkiakum, and Whatcom. Contact FPC Law at 2AHotline.com if you may be interested in being a plaintiff.

About the Firearms Policy Coalition
The Firearms Policy Coalition (firearmspolicy.org), is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization set up to defend constitutional rights and restore freedom. FPC’s efforts are focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and adjacent issues including freedom of speech, due process, unlawful searches and seizures, separation of powers, asset forfeitures, privacy, encryption, and limited government. FPC Law (FPCLaw.org) claims the nation’s largest public interest legal team focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and Second Amendment litigation.