House Bill 1240, signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee in April, criminalized the importation, manufacturing, distribution, sale and offering of assault weapons in Washington, according to bill documents. Prime sponsor Strom Peterson, who introduced the bill after a shooting in Mukilteo involving an AR-15, says that banning the sale and distribution of these weapons in Washington is a small but significant step in addressing gun violence. The new law doesn’t affect semi-automatic rifles that people already own.
Peterson says that the broad conversations about gun violence that young activists have initiated helped the bill pass. He also credits changes in the makeup of the Washington Legislature for the passage
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