Gun safety measure likely headed for November ballot

Initiative 1491 would allow courts to temporarily ban a person from possessing a gun, if that person is deemed a danger to themselves or others. It's called an Extreme Risk Protection Order, and family members or law enforcement would be able to request it from a judge.

Backers of a gun-violence prevention measure say they have turned in enough signatures to qualify the measure for Washington's ballot.

The backers submitted about 100,000 more signatures than required for validation.

The Alliance for Gun Responsibility is backing the initiative. Campaign manager Stephanie Ervin says it would help prevent several types of gun violence.

Ervin: "So, when you think about mass shootings and homicide, this is a tool that hopefully will help those who are best equipped to see the warning signs to be able to intervene. But also, we're hoping that it will have an impact on suicide, which in Washington state accounts for the vast majority of firearm deaths."

People affected by gun violence helped turn in signatures in Olympia on Thursday.

That included a woman who whose son killed himself and his step-sister last year, after she tried to have his firearms removed.

California, Indiana and Connecticut have already enacted Extreme Risk Protection Orders.

The Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation, a gun rights group, was not available to comment on the initiative this week.