Washington's high-capacity magazine ban heads to state Supreme Court after 'unconstitutional' ruling

After a Cowlitz County judge ruled Washington's ban on high-capacity magazines is unconstitutional at the state and federal levels, state Attorney General Bob Ferguson quickly said the decision was "incorrect," and moved the case up the legal ladder. The issue is now before the state Supreme Court.

"This law is constitutional," Ferguson said in a statement. "It is also essential to addressing mass shootings in our communities. This law saves lives, and I will continue to defend it.”

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Ferguson spearheaded an effort to ban the sale of high-capacity magazines (which hold more than 10 rounds) in Washington state. The Legislature passed the ban and it went into effect in July 2022.

Since then, the Attorney General's Office has sent undercover investigators into more than 100 gun shops around the state to ensure the new law was being followed. A handful of firearm stores were found to be openly or covertly violating the ban, leading to tens of thousands of dollars in fines.

One such shop was Gator's Custom Guns in Kelso, Wash., which, the Attorney General's Office alleges, continued to sell a stockpile of high-capacity magazines in the open. The state sued the store in September 2023. That case went to Cowlitz County Superior Court, the county Kelso is in.

But the state's lawsuit may have backfired. Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Gary Bashor ruled Monday that the state's ban is unconstitutional. Ferguson quickly responded and filed a motion with the state's Supreme Court.

Washington's Supreme Court has granted a stay of Bashor's ruling, which means the state's ban on high-capacity magazines will remain in effect as this case moves forward.

“Today’s decision is incorrect ... Every court in Washington and across the country [that has considered] challenges to a ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines under the U.S. or Washington Constitution has either rejected that challenge or been overruled," Ferguson said.