By Lee Williams
SAF Investigative Journalism Project
Our national right to keep and bear arms is not a second-class civil right subject to local rules, opinions or interpretations.
That is one of the key issues for the defense in the state case against Walter Wentz, owner of Gator’s Custom Guns, Inc., which has been operating in southwest Washington State for more than 14 years.
Wentz employs a staff of four including his youngest son who is the store’s manager. The gun shop started out small with about 900 square feet of space, but four years ago they expanded into a much bigger building.
According to the state’s complaint, in March 2022, Washington passed SB 5078, which banned the sale, importation, distribution and manufacture of “large capacity magazines or LCMs,” which can accept more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
“The threat posed by LCMs is not merely theoretical. Since 1980, LCMs have been involved in at least 85 mass shootings nationwide, resulting in 791 fatalities and more than 1,100 injuries,” the lawsuit claims. “Unfortunately, mass shootings continue, as does the use of weapons equipped with LCMs to reign terror upon our communities, including three this year alone – Monterey Park, Nashville, and Allen. Washington State is no stranger to these terrible events, as evidenced by mass shootings in recent years in Mukilteo and Burlington.”
The suit accuses Wentz and Gators of violating the state’s Consumer Protection Act when it sold standard capacity magazines to two state “investigators” on two occasions.
“In fact, one of those sales was made by Wentz himself: two magazines with capacity four times greater than the maximum allowed under the law,” a 2023 press release by Attorney General Bob Ferguson claims.
Ferguson, it should be pointed out, generated national news coverage because of his staunch anti-gun actions, and is set to become Washington State’s 24th governor on Jan. 15.
Wentz countersued in superior court with the help of the Silent Majority Foundation, a unique law firm which is located in Pasco, Washington. Wentz won his case, but within minutes the state appealed and got a stay. Now, in one week the two sides will battle it out again in Washington state’s supreme court. If he loses, Wentz said he will go to the United States Supreme Court.
“Our stay only lasted 88 minutes,” Wentz said Saturday. “We appealed that, and on 14 January we will be at the (state) Supreme Court.”
Wentz said he got into guns at an early age.
“I tried firearms and that kind of took. It never went away,” he said. “I started in the gun show circuit.”
Washington State’s anti-gun laws, which ban the sale of “assault rifles” and standard-capacity magazines have taken a terrific toll on Wentz’s business.
“It was a 40-percent kick in the nuts to my retail volume,” he said, quickly adding that he did not have to fire any of his employees. “With the help of the Silent Majority Foundation, we’ve been in litigation for more than a year now.”
Wentz is not sure how much the litigation has cost him.
“The NRA ponied out $75,000,” he said. “We chewed that up.”
His reason for fighting Washington State is simple: “There were two other entities (gun shops) that had their own cases and they both settled. Somebody has to fight, or they’ll think they can do this with the rest of our Constitutional rights. If I lose on 14 January, we are going to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. If someone doesn’t put their foot down, we’re going to lose the entire Second Amendment.”
Wentz knows his case could have national impact.
“When we win, it’s going to be a national precedence-setting event,” he said. “There are seven to 10 states that still want to reinterpret the Constitution, who will be on their heels. We really believe a win in this category will set things in motion, and keep those who would want to change the Constitution in check for a period of time until the Constitution goes to sleep again.”
The case has already taken a personal toll.
“I’m balancing a staff of four’s livelihood on a 40-percent reduction in volume. That’s my job one,” he said. “Keeping those four guys’ families fed. It’s stressful. It would be very easy to fall into the trap. We’re in the red bastion of Washington State. The majority here are very conservative and fiscally responsible. You can smell it and taste it. Now, it’s stressful knowing I’ve got to go sit in front of people who don’t think the way we do.”
Wentz knows he must first exhaust all of his potential state remedies before going to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We can’t go to the national level without doing this first,” he said. “That’s why other cases in other states have failed. I don’t understand why they don’t understand. It’s the reason our justice system works.”
Wentz’s wife has noticed the toll the legal battle has taken on him, especially since two other gun shops have already conceded.
“She has to live through all of this, too,” he said. “A lot of women wouldn’t have stuck around. She understands how strongly I feel about the Constitution. It’s a win-or-die for me. We can’t look at it any other way. They, the state, assumed I’d become number three.”
Wentz said his customer think he’s “awesome.”
“They put money in a bucket every week,” he said. “I wouldn’t have started this if I was going to quit. I certainly wouldn’t have taken their money. Our community has been very supportive. It’s the red bastion of the state on the west side that wants us to win. We can’t go to the national level without doing this. That’s where the other cases in other states have failed.”
Click here to support Wentz’s case and the Silent Majority Foundation.
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