WASHINGTON, D.C. — NSSF®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, filed a lawsuit against Washington’s Attorney General Robert Ferguson and John Batiste, Chief of Washington State Patrol, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief from state authorities enforcing HB 1240, the law that bans the sale and transfer of Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs) and many other firearms. The lawsuit was filed within hours of Gov. Jay Inslee’s signature by Clement & Murphy, PLLC.
NSSF, along with other plaintiffs, is challenging Washington’s MSR ban, demonstrating that it violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court held in Heller that the Second Amendment protects the rights to keep and bear arms “typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes.” There are over 24.4 million MSRs in circulation today, more than there are Ford F-150s on America’s roads.
“NSSF will not stand idly by as politicians cleave away fundamental Constitutional rights from Americans,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President & General Counsel. “The right to keep and bear arms that are commonly owned belongs to law-abiding citizens. Politicians in Washington exceed their authority when they usurp those rights to mollify radical special-interest groups. These politicians violate their oaths to protect and defend the Constitution and the rights of the citizens they represent.”
A recent Monmouth poll showed national support for “assault weapons” bans continues to drop. More Americans oppose banning MSRs than those supporting a ban. Just 46 percent of Americans support such a ban, while 49 percent said they would oppose a ban. That is a nine point drop in less than a year when the same poll was conducted in June 2022, following the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas.
NSSF is joined in the suit by Amanda Banta, a 2012 Olympian for Team USA and 10-year member of the U.S. Rifle Team and resident of Spokane, Wash. NSSF is also joined by NSSF-member company Sharp Shooting Indoor Range & Gun Shop, Inc., of Spokane, which accounts among its MSR customers the Kitsap County Sheriffs Office. The Range, LLC, of Yakima, Wash., also joined the suit, along with Aero Precision, LLC, a firearm manufacturer, in Tacoma, Wash., also an NSSF member company.
