Alliance for Gun Responsibility

Despite a push by Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson, a ban on so-called “assault weapons” appears unlikely to pass the Washington Legislature this year.

A gun rally in Virginia on Monday drew thousands of people and national attention. But guns were also on the agenda at the Washington state Capitol following a smaller pro-gun rally in Olympia on Friday.

Gun companies have rarely been held liable for crimes committed with their products. This lawsuit could mark a new front in the battle over gun regulations and corporate accountability.

Lawmakers may not have raised the minimum age to buy semiautomatic rifles in 2018, but voters did — 59 percent of them, in fact, approving Initiative 1639 in November.

Initiative 1639 is a sprawling, 30-page ballot measure that seeks to restrict access to semi-automatic rifles like the popular AR-15, which has become synonymous with mass shootings. But the initiative would also require the secure storage of firearms. Under the initiative, if a gun wasn’t safely stored and ended up in the wrong hands and someone was injured or killed, the gun’s owner could face felony community endangerment charges.

Early numbers on a new Washington law designed to crack down on felons and domestic abusers who try to buy a gun show that since July, more than 1,200 would-be gun buyers have failed background checks.