September 2, 2020

Pacifica Attorneys Team with the Attorney General’s Office on Legal Victory Upholding the Constitutionality of Voter-Approved Initiative 1639

Pacifica Law Group attorneys Greg Wong, Nick Brown, and Kai Smith represented the Initiative 1639 Campaign in a case to uphold the Initiative.

Yesterday, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington upheld the constitutionality of voter-approved Initiative 1639. The law put in place several common sense restrictions on firearms in Washington State, including prohibiting persons under 21 years old from purchasing semiautomatic assault rifles and requiring a waiting period and more comprehensive background checks for such firearms.

Gun lobby organizations, including the National Rifle Association and Second Amendment Foundation, challenged the constitutionality of the initiative. Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s Office and the Initiative 1639 Campaign, Safe Schools Safe Communities, jointly defended the law.  Judge Ronald Leighton ruled in favor of the State and Campaign’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the constitutional challenges to the initiative in their entirety.

Pacifica Law Group attorneys Greg Wong, Nick Brown, and Kai Smith represented the Initiative 1639 Campaign in the case. Pacifica attorneys have assisted the Campaign in succeeding at every stage, from helping to draft the initiative through the political process and in multiple legal challenges.  For more information about this important victory, please see this article.