State senator says she's ‘had enough' of gun safety obstruction

In the wake of several horrific mass shootings in the United States, advocates and elected leaders in Washington state are calling for new state laws around gun safety. KUOW’s Kim Malcolm spoke to state Sen. Patty Kuderer, a Democrat from Bellevue, about what gun safety laws Washington already has, and what might come next.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Kim Malcolm: Washington state has universal background checks, an age limit of 21 on the purchase of semi-automatic weapons, and "red flag" laws. What is your assessment of where our state stands compared to the rest of the country?

State Senator Patty Kuderer: I think our state is ahead of most of the country. We're certainly not first when it comes to common sense gun-safety measures, but we have improved greatly. Just this last session, we banned high-capacity magazines, restricted ghost guns, and banned open carry at school board meetings and local government meetings, and election places. We have been making great strides in Washington, but there's still more work to do.

What kind of impact do you think a law banning high-capacity gun magazines could have here?

We know that high-capacity magazines, along with assault weapons, are favored by mass shooters because they can mow down a lot of people in a very short period of time. By banning high-capacity magazines, you actually force a shooter to reload. That time gives people time to escape. So yes, I do think that banning high-capacity magazines will make a dramatic difference in mass shooting casualties.

The high-capacity magazine ban takes effect next month. There's already been a challenge filed to it in federal court by the Second Amendment Foundation. They claim this ban on high-capacity gun magazines is unconstitutional. How successful do you think their challenge could be?

I don't think they're going to be successful. I certainly hope that they won't be. I see that this is standard operating procedure for the gun lobby. Whenever any kind of gun-safety measure is passed, they will sue to try to prevent it from going into effect. I think that speaks to a bigger problem here, that the gun culture in America is driving the policy decisions made at both the federal level and in some of the states. We need to reverse that. We need to start putting kids before guns.

Are there other laws you think Washington state needs?

First and foremost, we can pass my bill to ban assault weapons. I've introduced that bill several years in a row. I think I speak for the vast majority of Americans that we’re sick of seeing kids being mowed down before politicians have the political courage to do what's right. These are weapons of war, and they don't belong in our communities. That's number one.

We can ban assault weapons. We can also require licensing and registration so that we know exactly how many guns we have and who they're registered to. And we need to end gun manufacturer immunity. This is a way for the gun manufacturers to avoid paying their fair share for the damage that's inflicted on community after community across this country.

President Biden asked Congress for a ban on assault weapons last week. It seems to be unlikely for that to pass. You’ve introduced this before six times. Why hasn't a ban on assault weapons been able to pass?

Any gun safety bills are challenging to get passed. It doesn't matter if it's a blue state or a red state. From my perspective, it's time that we actually get that put into place. We know that the Federal Assault Weapons Ban actually was quite effective at reducing mass shootings, and the states that ban assault weapons also have fewer mass shootings. I think it is time for Washington to take that step.

What's the biggest obstacle in the way of an assault weapons ban here?

Frankly, every single gun-safety measure is opposed by the Republicans. It doesn't matter what it is. It doesn't matter how common sense it is. It's opposed. And even after we pass them, they're challenged in the courts. That is part of the impediment here.

And when there are 100 amendments proposed on one of your bills that deals with common sense gun-safety measures, that takes up a lot of time. Then calculations have to be made. Do we eat up a lot of time and sacrifice other bills to get this over the finish line? Quite frankly, I think it comes down to priorities, and for me, I've had enough.

Do you think there's common ground to be found with your colleagues on the other side of the aisle?

Well, there was outrage before. There was outrage after Columbine. There was outrage after Sandy Hook. My hope is that this is an actual tipping point, that we finally get to the point where we say we don't have to live like this. We don't have to have more guns in our country than people.

I think we can get to the point where the Second Amendment has reasonable restrictions placed on it, just like other amendments do, and that it is not elevated above life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and especially elevated above the lives of little children, and people who are going to church or to a concert or to a grocery store. There is really no place you can go where you can say you don't have a potential for being involved in a shooting incident. That, I think, is a very sad comment on the state of America at this point.

What would you say to people who may be thinking, I am a law-abiding gun owner, I am not a danger to anyone, and banning weapons like this is unconstitutional?

My hope is that the lives that have been lost in just this last five months won't be in vain and that this Supreme Court will reject the argument that the Second Amendment is above all else, and that we can start putting reasonable restrictions on it. Law-abiding gun owners don't fear reasonable gun restrictions.

I've heard from some who actually say, I don't have a problem with licensing my gun, I don't have a problem with training, I don't have a problem with banning assault weapons. The only reason to have a military-style weapon is to kill people. My oath as a senator is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the people of this state. That's why I feel that banning assault weapons is critical. That’s part of my job.

Listen to the interview by clicking the play button above.