People could find out as soon as a few months from now if the Washington Supreme Court will hear the Gator’s Custom Guns case about the state’s ban on buying or selling high-capacity mags.
That’s what Pete Serrano of The Silent Majority Foundation, who works for the gun store in Kelso, says. He is also running for Attorney General of the state.
Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Gary Bashor said last month that the ban on buying and selling magazines with more than 10 rounds was unconstitutional. He said that the ban goes against both the state and federal constitutions, which say that people have the right to keep and use guns for self-defense.
In just 90 minutes after the decision, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson worked with state Supreme Court Commissioner Michael Johnston to get the order put on hold. Ferguson’s office has asked the top court of the state to look over the case on its own.
Johnson said in his order to extend the stay that 10 shots or less should be enough for self-defense.
That doesn’t sit well with Serrano.
He said, “It’s not his job to say what the limits are.” “It’s clear that the Legislature did that, and the lower court said those restrictions were against the Constitution.”
When the Attorney General asked for a straight appeal of the case, Serrano and his team sent a response on Tuesday.
“We’re just saying that we agree that this should be a Supreme Court matter,” he said. “But we don’t always agree with the way the government wants to get there.” We’re sure it’s a case of personal basic rights.
After reading Serrano’s statement, The Center Square asked the Attorney General’s Office for their thoughts.
“Every other court in Washington and across the country that has looked into challenges to a ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines under the U.S. or Washington Constitution has either rejected those challenges or overruled them,” the Attorney General’s Office told The Center Square in an email. “We’re sure the court will agree that this law is legal.”
Serrano thinks the state Supreme Court will take the case, “unless they really want to avoid it and make the appellate court build some more record.” I mean, I don’t think it’s right for an appeal court, but it’s the Supreme Court of Washington, so I don’t know.
Serrano says it seems likely to happen soon.
“We might get briefed on this in early August,” he said.
William Kirk, who is the head of Washington Gun Law, has been following the case very carefully.
Kirk put up a mean movie on YouTube after Johnston extended the stay order.
“I’ve had a chance to digest it and throw up a few times over it.” “This is one of the most hostile opinions I have ever read in my whole life,” he said. “Commissioner Johnston seems to have a big beef with every single legal gun owner in Washington state.” When you read this view, it’s clear that it was written out of personal anger.
However, Kirk believes that the case may not be about the Second Amendment rights at all. Instead, it may be about Article 1 Section 24 of the Washington State Constitution, which says, “Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain, or employ an armed body of men.”
The question of whether a large-capacity magazine (LCM) is even an arm is a very big one that holds up the Supreme Court’s questionable Heller analysis, Kirk read from Johnston’s decision.
In the case of District of Columbia v. Heller, the U.S. Supreme Court said that the Second Amendment protects a person’s right to own a gun that isn’t tied to serving in the military and to use that gun for normally legal reasons, like self-defense in the home.
The owner of Gator’s Custom Guns, Wally Wentz, was asked by The Center Square if the long court battle was worth it. He said that the support he’s received from customers and people who have donated to his case makes him strong.
“Daily, sometimes hourly, they donate, telling me go get ’em, Wally,” said he. “That’s what the state may have discounted, because I’m not driven by money; I’m only motivated by doing what I know is right.”
