New wave of gun control legislation arrives to state Senate

OLYMPIA, Wash — One of the more contentious pieces of legislation is heading to Olympia this week.

On Monday, the state Senate will begin discussing the bill that would get rid of high-capacity gun magazines, limiting them to only about 10 bullets.

Plus, on the docket will be the outright ban of assault weapons, which gun advocates don’t want to see.

“The governor and Attorney General Bob Ferguson don’t really represent the people,” said John Davis, a firearm advocate, who was at a pro-gun rally in Olympia on Friday.

He believes people in the United States shouldn't be limited to what type of gun they want, saying the last thing Washington should do is model other states with stricter laws.

“I have a long military history in our family, with our family serving in the military going back to WWI, and they didn’t go over there and fight these foreign wars to go back to that,” Davis said.

But supporters of more legislation are saying those two items are just the tip of the iceberg for what changes they want to see.

“There are solutions but we need help,” said Empress Joshett, an advocate against gun violence. “There are solutions.”

At a gun violence vigil Saturday night, demonstrators and members of Mom's Demand Action believe adding laws that include training or live fire practice before getting a concealed pistol license will help prevent accidents.

“We are strongly supporting legislation that would bring that requirement to being,” said Lauren Owen, a member of Mom’s Demand Action.

Owen says Washington is one of 12 states without those types of laws on the books and she hopes that'll change this session.

According to Owen, they are also working to get funding for gun violence prevention programs.

As you may remember, initiative 1639 became law this past year, which made the legal age to buy assault weapons 21.

Many supporters are hoping to take it another step further this year.