By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
The Second Amendment Foundation and its partners in a federal challenge of Washington State’s newly-enacted ban on so-called “assault weapons” filed a motion in federal court, asking for a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the measure.
House Bill 1240 took effect the moment it was signed into law by Democrat Gov. Jay Inslee on April 25. At the moment Inslee was affixing his signature, SAF was filing the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. The case is known as Hartford v. Ferguson.
SAF is joined by the Firearms Policy Coalition, Sporting Systems, a Hazel Dell retailer, and three private citizens, Brett Bass, Douglas Mitchell and Lawrence Hartford, for whom the case is named. They are represented by Seattle attorney Joel Ard.
In announcing this latest legal move, SAF founder and Executive Vice President stated, “Washington has a long tradition of lawful private ownership of semiautomatic firearms. Millions of American citizens own these firearms, all over the country, and they have been in common use in the Evergreen State for many years. We believe this ban is wholly unconstitutional, and as such, we’re asking the court to enjoin the state from enforcing the law, to prevent Washington citizens from being penalized by an unjust, politically-motivated statute.”
In their motion, SAF and its partners contend “there is no possible justification for Washington’s unconstitutional ban…Not only are they likely to succeed on the merits, but the threatened constitutional violation of Plaintiffs’ right to acquire firearms and to supply their customers with the same, would be irreparable if it were to occur, and public interest always favors the injunction of unconstitutional laws.”
Adam Kraut, SAF executive director and a practicing attorney observed, “The courts have established that deprivation of constitutional rights constitutes irreparable injury, and the plaintiffs in this case have demonstrated the ban infringes on their Second Amendment rights, and thus causes irreparable harm. An injunction will not harm the state, because it will keep in place the status quo, which has always prevailed in Washington, right up to the moment Gov. Inslee signed the legislation. We’re hoping the court acts quickly in this matter, because politics should never outweigh the exercise of constitutionally-protected rights.”
The motion was filed one day after SAF, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and Gottlieb filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, and two days after the three-term attorney general announced the formation of an “exploratory” effort regarding a possible run for governor in 2024.
