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KIRO investigators: Confusing state law allows violent felons to get guns

After the deadly school shooting in Marysville and the passage of Initiative 594, there’s a renewed look at gun safe legislation, including a proposal from Rep. Ruth Kagi on the safe storage of firearms.

An investigation by KIRO 7 television reporters may expose a new loophole in state laws.

KIRO 7 investigators say they’ve dug up case after case of violent felons legally obtaining guns. Reporters at the station reviewed more than 17,000 police and court records, all involving a loophole in state laws that isn’t addressed by the recently passed Initiative 594, which deals with background checks before somebody buys a gun.

Here’s how KIRO explains the problem:

The one thing it seems gun rights advocates and gun control advocates can agree on: Guns should be kept out of the hands of violent criminals. 

And yet, a KIRO 7 investigation discovered the state of Washington is allowing just that. A confusing state law that restores gun rights for felons has been interpreted by different courts in different counties, and the resulting confusion has allowed felons to get their hands on guns — legally.

Prosecutors interviewed by KIRO said their hands are tied. There’s also no uniformity among counties in how cases are handled.

Prosecutor Kathy Webber in Snohomish County told KIRO 7 courts are handcuffed. “Once the offender meets the criteria, the court must grant the petition (to restore gun rights),” she explained. Like counties across the state, Snohomish County receives a constant stream of requests from felons who want their gun rights restored.

Even if convicted felons are known domestic abusers, that does not disqualify them from getting their gun rights restored. Neither does other violent behavior, unless there is a conviction. Webber said she has no wiggle room to try to block gun restoration rights if the felon meets state requirements, “There’s nothing that prevents me from feeling nervous about my job, but I still have to do the job that I’ve been given.”
 
Convicted sex offenders are supposed to be different — they are effectively barred from ever getting their gun rights back.

But after reviewing more than 17,000 police and court records, KIRO 7 found convicted sex offenders are getting their rights restored in King, Spokane, Clark, Lewis, Mason and Kitsap counties.  And once their rights are restored in one county, it’s legal for them to own a gun anywhere in the state.

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