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(The Center Square) – A basis for a bill banning the purchase, sale, and importation of “assault weapons” passed by the Washington Legislature expected to be signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee is that it will reduce the number of mass shootings in the state.
Gun violence data shows that mass shootings make up a small percentage of murders and manslaughter crimes committed in recent years, and many of the firearms banned under the bill have never been used in a mass shooting in the state since at least 2013.
HB 1240’s intent section states:
Assault weapons have been used in the deadliest mass shootings in the last decade. An assailant with an assault weapon can hurt and kill twice the number of people than an assailant with a handgun or nonassault rifle. This is because the additional features of an assault weapon are not “merely cosmetic”; rather, these are features that allow shooters to fire large numbers of rounds quickly.
An analysis of mass shootings that result in four or more deaths found that percent of those fatalities were caused by an assault weapon. The legislature also finds that this regulation is likely to have an impact on the number of mass shootings committed in Washington.
Gun Violence Archive is a nonprofit organization that uses more than 7,500 government and nongovernment sources to collect and publish data on gun-related violence in the United States that goes as far back as 2013 when the organization was formed.
According to its database, there were 31 mass shootings in Washington state between 2015-2021, which the organization defines as any shooting involving four or more people injured or killed by a firearm. The shooter is not counted in those figures. Washington state has no legal definition of a mass shooting, nor does the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In that seven-year period, 53 people were killed in mass shootings in Washington state, constituting 2% of the 1,698 reported murders and manslaughters that occurred during that same period, according to annual crime reports compiled by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.
The worst year for mass shootings was 2016, which had 21 people killed and composed 11% of 185 murders and manslaughters.
If signed into law, HB 1240 would specifically ban the AK-47 and similar variants, which have not been used in a mass shooting since at least 2013. The bill also bans AR-15s, which were used in two mass shootings in 2016 and 2017 that killed four people and injured four more.
A .22 rifle was also used in two mass shootings, one in 2016 and another in 2019, with a total of 10 people killed and two injured. Types of .22 semi-automatic rifles would be illegal to buy or sell under HB 1240, depending on various features.
Additionally, HB 1240 bans shotguns with certain features or accessories such as thumbhole stocks. No 12-gauge shotguns has been used in a mass shooting in Washington since at least 2013, and the only time a shotgun of any type was used was in a 2017 mass shooting in Toppenish that injured six people.
HB 1240 will now be sent back to the House for concurrence.
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This article First appeared in the center square
