A Thurston County District Court Judge blocked the anti-gun initiative I-1639 from the Washington State ballot earlier this month. Now, according to the Seattle Times, the Washington Supreme Court has overturned the ruling, placing it back on the ballot.
The original judge removed the measure because of a formatting issue and issued a “writ of mandamus” to the Secretary of State – the initiative did not have proper “strikethroughs” or “underlines” to show how the law was being changed. It also had a font “so small” it couldn’t be read easily.
Now it’s back.
The State Supreme Court ruled,
This action was not properly brought under RCW 29A.72.240. The purpose of this statute is narrow; it does not allow for preelection judicial review of the form, process, substance, or
constitutionality of an initiative petition. The plain language of RCW 29A.72.240 limits the court to examining whether the petitions “contain the requisite number of signatures of legal voters.”…
Thus, the mandamus relief available under this statute is limited to enforcing the number-of-signature requirements and is not available where, as here, there is no actual challenge to the counting of signatures.
In other words, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that it was “improper” to stop the Initiative because it had the required number of signatures (over 378,000). The state law doesn’t allow for a judicial review at this juncture in the process.
I-1639
I-1639 is more than just moving the gun purchase age to 21. It also requires enhanced background checks, waiting periods, and training in order to purchase semi-automatic weapons. The initiative mandates making the guns secure at home and punishes the firearms owner if a person obtains it who is not supposed to have it.
The Initiative has been heavily backed by anti-gun groups such as Everytown for Gun Safety, and The Alliance for Gun Responsibility.
With this development, those who live in Washington State need to make sure they get out the vote in November!
H/T Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children
Related:
- Expensive lesson: Wealthy anti-gunners must also follow the law
- Judge Disqualifies Washington Gun Control Initiative
If you haven’t checked out and liked our Facebook page, please go here and do so. You can also follow us on Twitter at @co_firing_line and be sure to check out our MeWe page here and our new PatrioticSpace group here.
If you appreciate independent conservative reports like this, please go here and support us on Patreon.
And while you’re at it, be sure to check out our friends at Whatfinger News, the Internet’s conservative front-page founded by ex-military!
