WA’s ban on assault weapon sales withstands another round in court

A Washington judge has again upheld the state’s 2023 ban on the sale (but not ownership) of semiautomatic firearms defined as assault weapons, including models like AR-15s. The Silent Majority Foundation and several gun sellers, who argue the ban violates the state constitution’s right-to-bear-arms clause, plan to appeal. The state contends it can regulate especially lethal firearms commonly used in mass shootings and unsuitable for self-defense.

Judge Christine Schaller sided with the state, marking another win for Washington’s gun-violence prevention laws. Federal challenges to the same law have also been denied for now, with courts awaiting guidance from an upcoming appeals ruling on California’s similar ban. Across the country, courts are split on such prohibitions, and conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices have signaled interest in eventually reviewing an assault-weapons case.

Washington is one of ten states with such bans. The Silent Majority Foundation has also failed to overturn the state’s high-capacity magazine ban and is seeking U.S. Supreme Court review. Political tensions surround the organization, formerly led by Pete Serrano, whom President Trump appointed interim U.S. attorney for Eastern Washington. More legal battles are expected as Washington’s new permit-to-purchase law begins in 2027.

Last year, an appellate court used logic Scalia formerly deployed in Heller to rule that modern assault rifles
like the AR-15 and AK-47 are also not protected by the Second Amendment,
because the weapons are not “in common use.” The decision upheld
Maryland’s assault weapons law. Attorneys for the state noted that such
guns comprise only 3 percent of the total civilian arsenal of
approximately 310 million firearms, citing a 2012 Congressional Research Service report.