Anti-gun former Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn announced Monday that he is running to regain the office he lost four years ago to current embattled Mayor Ed Murray, whose own anti-gun track record has the city being sued by The Second Amendment Foundation and other gun rights organizations.
McGinn was in office when SAF and the National Rifle Association won a lawsuit challenging an attempt by Seattle to ban guns in its city park facilities. That lawsuit was based on the state preemption statute, which is at the heart of a current legal action challenging the city’s so-called “gun violence tax” that was signed into law in 2015 by Murray.
When he was in the state Senate, Murray sponsored legislation aimed at banning so-called “assault weapons” that included a tenet allowing warrantless annual searches of the homes of gun owners by sheriff’s deputies. When that was revealed, Murray hurriedly pulled that section of the bill and claimed he didn’t realize it was in there.
Murray is entangled in a political scandal over a civil lawsuit, which may have signaled to McGinn that he can have a rematch and emerge the victor. When McGinn was Seattle’s mayor, he pushed all manner of liberal programs including a strong effort to reduce automobile traffic and promote bicycle lanes and public transportation.
The “gun violence tax” is currently being challenged at the State Supreme Court by SAF, the National Rifle Association and National Shooting Sports Foundation along with two firearms retailers.
In a separate legal action, SAF and the senior editor of its monthly publication, TheGunMag.com, are suing the city over an alleged violation of the state Public Records Act. Last year, TheGunMag.com filed a PRA request for gun tax revenue, which the city refused to provide. When the tax was adopted and signed into law by Murray, it was predicted that between $300,000 and $500,000 would be raised annually to support “gun violence” research and other “anti-violence” programs.
A few weeks ago, the city finally acknowledged that the gun tax had actually brought in less than $200,000, but would not be more specific, claiming a privacy issue with the retailers who paid the tax. Liberty Park Press reported this development March 22.
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