BELLEVUE, WA – Contrary to a declaration from a Seattle-based gun control lobbying group, a federal lawsuit challenging anti-rights Initiative 1639 in Washington State is still very much alive, the Second Amendment Foundation assured today.
SAF and the National Rifle Association jointly filed their legal challenge to I-1639 late last year, but last Friday filed an amended complaint that released Attorney General Bob Ferguson as a defendant, and instead named the Clark County sheriff, Spokane police chief and the director of the State Department of Licensing.
“All we did,” explained SAF founder and Executive Vice President, “was to let Ferguson off the hook. We definitely have not dropped our lawsuit, despite a gloating news release from the Alliance for Gun Responsibility that claimed we voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit. We haven’t dismissed anything. I don’t know why the Alliance put a release out. It’s sloppy on their part, and seems only designed to discourage our members and supporters.
“Pardon the pun, but they obviously jumped the gun,” he said.
“Attorney General Ferguson told the court that he shouldn’t be a defendant in the case and defend the law at the same time,” Gottlieb continued. “That may seem a bit contradictory, especially for a man who endorsed I-1639 and has vowed to defend it against any legal challenge, but he wanted out so we let him out. It allows him to be in his favorite spot, in front of a microphone.
“Our challenge to this unjust and unconstitutional law will proceed,” he added, “despite the grandstanding by the Attorney General and the Seattle gun control lobby.
“Ferguson sent an open letter to county sheriffs, demanding that they enforce the law despite their concerns about its constitutionality,” Gottlieb noted. “In that letter, Ferguson referred to Article 1, Section 1 of the State Constitution, about political power being inherent to the people. He seems to have overlooked Article 1, Section 24, which states that the right to bear arms shall not be impaired, but he endorsed a measure that is loaded with impairments, and that’s why we are, and will remain, in court.”