Washington State’s critical gun-violence prevention law prohibiting the sale of military-style assault weapons withstood another challenge last week when a Thurston County Superior Court judge upheld the law under the State Constitution.
In Guardian Arms v. State of Washington, Pacifica Law Group represented the Alliance for Gun Responsibility (the Alliance), a Washington nonprofit organization that works to save lives and eliminate harms caused by gun violence. The Alliance intervened in the lawsuit to defend Substitute House Bill 1240 (SHB 1240), which prohibits the manufacture, import, sale, and distribution of assault weapons.
The Alliance worked tirelessly to promote the passage of SHB 1240, which then-Governor Jay Inslee signed into law in April 2023. The Alliance then intervened in three lawsuits to defend SHB 1240, represented by Pacifica. And in all three lawsuits, the court rejected the gun lobby’s claims. In 2023, two federal courts rejected Second Amendment challenges to the assault weapons ban, denying the plaintiffs’ motions to temporarily block the law.
In this case, firearms dealer Guardian Arms sued the State, claiming SHB 1240 violated Article I, Section 24 of the Washington State Constitution, which protects the right to bear arms. After discovery, the State and the Alliance moved for summary judgment.
At a November 14 hearing, Superior Court Judge Christine Schaller issued a ruling from the bench granting summary judgment to the State and the Alliance, ending the case in the trial court. In doing so, Judge Schaller held that assault weapons are not commonly used in self-defense and are therefore not protected arms under the Washington State Constitution. The Court also held that, even if assault weapons were protected, they would be subject to reasonable regulation under the State’s police power to protect public safety and welfare. And SHB 1240 is just such a regulation, the Court held, because it reasonably calculated to save lives and imposes no meaningful burden on the right to self-defense.
The Pacifica litigation team representing the Alliance is led by Zach Pekelis and includes Kai Smith and Meha Goyal, who presented oral argument at the summary judgment hearing.
Pacifica has long represented the Alliance in defending commonsense gun laws in the Pacific Northwest. Pacifica has secured significant victories for the Alliance in state and federal cases challenging Washington’s gun safety laws, including I-594 (requiring background checks for all gun sales), I-1639 (enacting age and residency restrictions on purchase of semiautomatic rifles), and Senate Bill 5078 (restricting large-capacity magazines). Pacifica has also represented the Alliance for a Safe Oregon in successfully defending Measure 114, a voter-approved law that restricts the sale and manufacture of large-capacity gun magazines, and establishes a permit-to-purchase and background-check system for all firearm purchases.
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