State Supreme Court Commissioner Michael Johnston has ruled that the ban on the buying or selling of high-capacity magazines in Washington will remain in effect while legal challenges against the ban are being resolved. These high-capacity magazines are defined as those capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
Johnston has decided to maintain the emergency stay that he issued earlier this month.
On April 8, Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Gary Bashor ruled that the ban, which had been in effect, was unconstitutional. This ruling came as a result of a lawsuit between the state and Gator’s Custom Guns in Kelso. Judge Bashor also issued an injunction to prohibit the state from enforcing the ban.
Within just 90 minutes of Bashor’s ruling, Johnston swiftly granted the Attorney General’s Office request to temporarily halt the lower court’s decision.
In his ruling invalidating Washington’s ban on high-capacity magazines, Bashor referred to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision. In this landmark decision, the highest court in the land declared, with a 6-3 majority, that firearm regulations should adhere to the nation’s historical tradition and existing firearm regulation.
In his 81-page opinion on Thursday, Johnston revisited the “highly debatable” issues in Bashor’s decision that he had previously mentioned in a hearing last week.
Johnston, in his statement, highlighted that the key factor in determining debatability is not necessarily a finding of error by the lower court, but rather the question of whether reasonable individuals can have differing opinions on the matter. He further emphasized that he took into account the potential harm that could arise from lifting the stay and permitting the sale of high-capacity magazines during this period.
According to Johnston, the historical evidence clearly demonstrates that large-capacity magazines significantly amplify the number of fatalities and injuries in mass shootings. Furthermore, the frequency of such incidents has been on the rise in recent years. The thought of potentially lifting the stay and allowing for the possession of a large-capacity magazine, which could potentially lead to a tragic event that wouldn’t have occurred otherwise, is something that troubles Johnston and keeps him awake at night.
Washington implemented a high-capacity magazine ban on July 1, 2022. This ban makes it illegal to sell magazines with a capacity exceeding 10 rounds in the state. Additionally, the ban also prohibits the manufacturing, distribution, and importation of such magazines within Washington.