Legislature strikes balancing act with gun, victim rights

It comes seven years too late for a woman killed on the University of Washington campus, but the Washington legislature has taken a step toward protecting domestic violence victims from their abusers.

Rebecca Griego had a protection order against her former boyfriend, but that didn’t stop him from getting a gun and killing her in her University of Washington office. That was in 2007.

The state Senate unanimously passed a bill Thursday that would require those with domestic violence protection orders against them to hand over their guns, if a judge rules them a credible threat.

Senator Marko Liias spoke in favor of the bill. “This is one small step, but we have to do everything we can to protect these women and these families in these terrible circumstances,” he said.

The legislature has been haggling over this bill for several years while trying to balance gun ownership rights and protections for victims.

This would be the first time that Washington gun owners could lose their rights without being convicted of a felony.

But Republican Senator Mike Padden said there are plenty of protections for gun owners in this bill.

“There has to be a notice,” he said. “There has to be a hearing, and the judge would have to find that the individual whose guns were to be removed was a credible threat.”

The National Rifle Association has even pulled its opposition from the bill because of these safeguards.

The bill now heads to the governor for his signature.