Gun shop owners argue against AG’s assault weapons ban

When Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced his proposed assault weapons ban Wednesday he was surrounded by supporters.

Take the father of Paul Kramer, for example. Kramer survived the Mukilteo shooting that left three dead in July during a house party. Kramer’s father was there to support the ban, saying the murders were devastating.

“I have been heartbroken and shaken to the core of my being,” he said.

Related: Washington AG supports ban of assault weapons

The Mukilteo shooting “drives home the need to act with urgency to end the availability of weapons designed with only one purpose — to kill people,” Ferguson said in his announcement.

Allen Ivanov, 19, is accused of using an AR-15 rifle to kill his ex-girlfriend and two of his peers. Even Tim Leary, Ivanov’s lawyer, was quick to point a finger at the “tools that were available in this incident,” stressing that his client was able to buy a rifle at such a young age.

“It’s not black or white,” Leary said. “Obviously, if he didn’t have the firearm this could have been a different case. Is the firearm responsible? Well, no.”

But, gun shop owner Diana Pinto says there are problems with what the AG is proposing.

“You’re trying to ban a firearm that’s not responsible for the majority of these mass shootings,” she said.

KIRO Radio’s Jason Rantz argues that any gun used to kill a human qualifies as being designed to kill people, “because that’s how you used it,” he said.

Ferguson wants a ban on semi-automatic guns with military-style features and to impose a limit on magazine capacity to a maximum of 10 rounds. He will submit agency request legislation in the 2017 legislative session to ban certain weapons. Sen. David Frockt (D-46) and Sen. Kevin Ranker (D-40) are working with Ferguson to craft the legislation. Ferguson’s proposal targets sales, not current ownership. The legislation would not require registration of existing weapons.

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