The state of Washington is reeling right now after the shooting at Marysville-Pilchuck High School last week. While this tragedy affects people on a level outside of politics, the shooting will undoubtedly play a factor when Washington voters head to the polls next week. There are two opposing measures on the ballot focused on gun rights.
Initiative 594 will require a background check for all gun sales in the state, including those bought at gun shows and online retailers. There would be an number of exceptions to the new law: background checks would not be required for antique firearms, those inherited from family members and those borrowed for the purposes of hunting. Regardless of the exceptions, the overall effect would be that gun sellers in the state would need verification that a potential buyer is legally permitted to possess a gun.
Countering Initiative 594 is Initiative 591, titled Washington Gun Rights Measure. This measure would prevent government agencies from requiring background checks outside of established national guidelines. Additionally, it would prevent government agencies from confiscating firearms without due process.
Supporters of the gun rights measure argue that more background checks will only provide more bureaucracy and not have any effect on keeping guns out of the hands of criminals. Those backing Initiative 594 argue in the Washington Voter’s Guide that the gun rights measure “would roll back Washington’s existing – and already inadequate – background check laws to conform to weak federal standards”
Support for both measures has been losing ground according to a poll released on Oct. 13. The Elway Poll, which conducts polling in Washington and the greater northwest, said that while I-594 still has a majority, support has dropped to 60 percent from the 70 percent backing it had back in July. Support for Initiative 591, meanwhile, has fallen to 39 percent, down from the 55 percent support it had in April.
However, these polls were conducted before the shooting at Marysville-Pilchuck, and it is unknown what effect that will have on Washington voters. What is clear, however, is that with these opposing measures, the residents of Washington will be in a position to pick a side in the ongoing debate over gun control.
