Judge rejects blocking of state's gun restrictions

SEATTLE >> A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a request to block a new Washington state law banning the sale of certain semi-automatic rifles, one of three measures recently signed by Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee in an effort to reduce gun violence.

The law, which took effect immediately when Inslee signed it in April, prohibits the sale, distribution, manufacture and importation of more than 50 types of guns, including AR- and AK-style rifles. The measure does not bar the possession of such weapons by people who already have them.

It drew a quick legal challenge from two gun-rights advocacy groups — the Second Amendment Foundation, based in Bellevue, and the Firearms Policy Coalition, based in Sacramento, California — as well as individual gun owners and a dealer. They sought a court order blocking the law pending a trial on the merits of their claim that it violated their constitutional right to bear arms.

A U.S. Supreme Court decision last June expanded gun rights, dividing judges and sowing confusion over what restrictions can remain on the books. It made more explicit that gun laws must be consistent with the “historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

Bryan found that the state's ban does fit in with the nation's long history of regulating dangerous weapons, including colonial-era bans on “trap guns” that could be fired without the owner present. Other historical targets of regulation have included long-bladed Bowie knives and the Tommy gun, popular with gangsters in the years after World War I.