I-1639 Lawsuit Removes Ferguson, Adds Police Chief And Sheriff

SEATTLE, WA - The gun rights groups suing to overturn the voter-approved gun safety initiative I-1639 have refiled the suit, naming new defendants, including the Spokane police chief and the Clark County Sheriff.

The National Rifle Association and the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation filed the suit against the state and attorney general in November, claiming that I-1639 violates the U.S. Constitution. SAF spokesman Alan Gottlieb said Tuesday that the suit was refiled to exclude Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

"The AG said he shouldn't be named because he's not going out to arrest people," Gottlieb said.

The suit now names Spokane Chief Craig Meidl, Clark County Sheriff Charles Atkins, and state Deparment of Licensing Director Teresa Berntsen. The complaints in the suit remain unchanged.

The Alliance for Gun Responsibility, which backed I-1639, had sent out a press release Tuesday saying that the suit had been withdrawn completely.

Meanwhile, Ferguson on Tuesday issued a warning to the 13 sheriffs in Washington who have pledged not to uphold I-1639. Ferguson said the sheriffs could be held personally liable for not performing background checks required by the law.

"State law provides immunity to local law enforcement officers who run these checks 'in good faith,'" Ferguson wrote in a letter to the sheriffs. "However, in the event a police chief or sheriff refuses to perform the background check required by Initiative 1639, they could be held liable if there is a sale or transfer of a firearm to a dangerous individual prohibited from possessing a firearm and that individual uses that firearm to do harm."

Columbia County Sheriff Joe Helm was the latest to join the opposition on Monday. Columbia County is in far southeast Washington near Walla Walla.

"As written, I feel that Initiative 1639 is unconstitutionally vague and includes enforcement provisions that are not allowed to our officer. Therefore, it is unenforceable," he said in a statement posted on the department's Facebook page.

King County Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht was willing to uphold the initiative.

"As Sheriff, I took an oath to uphold the law. As law enforcement leaders, we defy that oath, and betray the public trust, if we pick and choose which laws we will uphold. While I agree the Initiative, as written, can be refined, it is ultimately up to the courts, not law enforcement, to decide whether Initiative 1639 is constitutional," she said in a statement on Feb. 6.

I-1639 passed in the November 2018 election with almost 60 percent of the vote statewide.

One of the biggest pieces of I-1639, raising the age to buy a semi-automatic assault rifle from 18 to 21, went into effect on Jan. 1. Other provisions won't take effect until July.

Another major part of the law creates a crime called "community endangerment." If the owner of a gun allows the weapon to fall into the wrong hands - a child for example - and the gun is used to injure, kill, or threaten, the gun owner could face criminal charges.

The NRA and Second Amendment Foundation filed the suit on behalf of Luke Rettmer, a 19-year-old competitive shooter; Robin Ball and Daniel Mitchell, who are gun dealers; a Seattle University recreational shooter, Matthew Louis Wald; Armen Tooloee, another recreational shooter; and Spokane army reservist Nathaniel Casey.

Patch has reached out to the SAF for comment. We will update this story when we hear back.

Here's the original lawsuit filed by the NRA and SAF.

Correction: The earlier version of this story reported that the suit against I-1639 had been dropped. While it technically was voluntarily withdrawn by the plaintiffs, the story incorrectly asserted that the plaintiffs had dropped the suit entirely.

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