2-13-2019
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The state attorney general says county sheriffs who refuse to enforce Washington’s new gun laws could be held liable.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson warns county sheriffs if they refuse to perform expanded background checks, and someone who shouldn’t buy a gun is then able to buy one and uses it in a crime, they could be held liable.
Ferguson wrote an open letter to law enforcement Tuesday saying he was confident the voter-approved law was constitutional.
The Seattle Times reported that at least 13 county sheriffs have said they won’t enforce the law, Initiative 1639, which voters passed by a wide margin in November.
Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo told KGMI it’s the courts’ responsibility to determine the constitutionality of laws and he’s hoping there will be clarity from lawsuits brought against the initiative before the criminal elements of it take effect in July.