Washington State Supreme Court Commissioner Michael Johnston is expected to issue a decision next week on the constitutionality of the state’s ban on so-called “large-capacity magazines,” but he may have already signaled how he might rule.
According to The Daily News in Longview, Wash., Johnston’s decision will possibly be appealed to the full state Supreme Court. Johnston is not a justice on the court.
In his often rambling questioning of an attorney representing Gator’s Guns, the Kelso gun store at the center of this legal action, Johnston observed, “I don’t buy this idea that you need to have an AR-15 or Glock or something with 15, or 30 or whatever rounds. I don’t find that persuasive.”
My Northwest is reporting the ban will remain in place until the state high court issues a ruling.
Gator’s Guns is challenging the ban, and last week Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Gary Bashor ruled the ban is unconstitutional under both the Washington State Constitution’s Article I, Section 24 and U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment. His 55-page decision may be read here. Less than 90 minutes after Judge Bashor’s decision was issued, Johnston stayed it.
The ban took effect in July 2022, but Gator’s continued selling the magazines. Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued Gator’s Guns last September and Gator’s sued the state, as noted by The Center Square.
The Daily News noted that Austin Hatcher with the Silent Majority Foundation, a Pasco, Wash.-based group, which represents Gator’s Guns and owner Wally Wentz, reminded the court that no mass shooting involving large capacity magazines has ever occurred in the Evergreen State. Commissioner Johnston’s reply was that the state is not protected by “a forcefield,” indicating such an event could occur here.
Following Judge Bashor’s ruling, Ferguson issued a statement insisting the magazine ban is constitutional and that the ruling was “incorrect.” Ferguson, a Democrat who is running for governor, has repeatedly boasted he has not lost a gun control case.
The state Supreme Court keeps tabs on media coverage of its cases, and lists on its website two recent editorials—one in the Seattle Times and the other in the Vancouver Columbian—which support the ban.
The Columbian editorial notes up front, “The details and the legalese surrounding Washington’s ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines are complex. But state officials must continue to defend gun legislation passed by the representatives of the people.”
The Times editorial board notes, “Meanwhile on the federal front, it’s refreshing that the Biden administration appears to have won a decades-long battle to close the loophole that allowed firearms to be sold at gun shows, online and at flea markets without background checks.”
