The Evergreen State’s standard-capacity magazine ban ruled unconstitutional has been ruled unconstitutional by a Cowlitz County judge.
On Monday, Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Gary Bashor ruled that Washington’s ban on standard-capacity magazines violated both the Washington state and U.S. Constitutions.
Bashor issued an immediate injunction, which blocks the state from enforcing the ban.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed an emergency appeal to the state Supreme Court, seeking to get the law back on the books.
Michael Johnston, the Washington state Supreme Court commissioner, granted an emergency stay Monday evening, keeping the ban in effect, for now.
Any firearm magazine that is capable of holding more than ten rounds has been banned in the state since 2022.
In ruling the law unconstitutional, Bashor pointed to a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision NYRSPA v. Bruen, in which the court ruled that gun regulations must be “consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”
Bashor wrote that the state needs to show a historical law, from around the time of the Second Amendment’s adoption, that justifies its current regulation.
His decision, citing Supreme Court precedent, would toss the standard-capacity magazine ban and casts doubt on most modern gun laws.
Adding on, Bashor wrote:
“There was no appetite to limit gun rights by the Founders. Though the specific technology available today may not have been envisioned, the Founders expected technological advancements. The result is few, if any, historical analogue laws by which a state can justify a modern firearms regulation.”
The National Association for Gun Rights opposes any limitations or bans on standard-capacity magazines.
Read more at Seattle Times.
