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Last ditch gun safety effort in Washington Legislature has student focus

By Essex Porter, KIRO 7 News
By Essex Porter, KIRO 7 News

In Parkland, Florida, a 19-year-old legally purchased a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle and used it to kill 17 people at a high school

The massacre has revived gun safety legislation in Washington state where it’s also legal for 18-year-olds to buy assault-style rifles.

“Measures need to be taken, measures can be taken and need to be taken to preserve life and yet that hasn't happened yet,” Paul Kramer said in an interview.

Two years ago, Paul Kramer's son Will survived critical wounds at a Mukilteo party when a 19-year-old opened fire with a legally purchased AR-15. Three others were killed.

State Senator David Frockt has revised his legislation to focus on school safety.

It creates a Student Protecting Students Program giving school districts money to better coordinate with first responders, and like previous legislation, raises from 18 to 21 the age where someone can legally buy semi-automatic rifles with so-called tactical features like the AR-15.

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Gun Rights advocates objected

“It's a gun control bill that's been improperly co-mingled with a school safety measure,” Tom Oster said.

“We need serious efforts to prevent those who are a danger to themselves or others from getting access to firearms, but not at the expense of removing fundamental rights from law abiding adults,” said Keely Hopkins, representing the National Rifle Association.

Seattle High School senior Johnna Munsen testified in support of the bill. She's hoping Parkland will bring the change other mass shootings did not.

“There's always a period of just sadness and being scared. But the thing is mass shootings have become so commonplace that that period, it barely even lasts because before you know it, we're on to the next one. And people have almost become de-sensitized, which is why it's really important to ask now.”

According to the bill, a semiautomatic rifle or shotgun with tactical features is defined to mean:

  • Semiautomatic rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and has one or more listed features such as a pistol grip, a folding or telescoping stock, or a flash suppressor;
  • Semiautomatic, centerfire, or rimfire rifle with a fixed magazine, that has the capacity to accept more than ten rounds of ammunition;
  • Semiautomatic, centerfire, or rimfire rifle with an overall length of less than 30 inches;
  • Semiautomatic shotgun that has specified features, or a shotgun with a revolving cylinder; and
  • Conversion kit or parts from which a semiautomatic rifle or shotgun with tactical features can be assembled if in possession of the same person.

A semiautomatic rifle or shotgun with tactical features does not include antique firearms, a firearm that has been made permanently inoperable, or a firearm that is manually operated by bolt, pump, lever or slide action.

With barely more than a week left in the legislative session, the fate of this bill remains uncertain.

Cox Media Group

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