Turning guns into paperweights.
Via Seattle Times:
A King County judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit brought by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation against Seattle’s new gun-storage law, siding with the city’s argument that even the ardent gun-rights organizations encourage their members to keep their guns safe.
Superior Court Judge Barbara Linde issued the order in the case over the law that requires gun owners to lock up their firearms when not carrying them or controlling them.
It’s unclear exactly what the ruling means in the long term in Seattle and for similar laws passed by Edmonds and King County because Linde didn’t rule on the plaintiffs’ central claim that Seattle’s requirements violate a Washington state law that prohibits cities from regulating guns.
The judge instead tossed out the suit on more technical grounds after the city contended the plaintiffs lacked standing and noted the law had yet to take effect.
“It seems the NRA jumped the gun in filing their lawsuit against this eminently reasonable legislation meant to protect children and the vulnerable,” Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said in a statement.
Alan Gottlieb, president of the Second Amendment Foundation, suggested an appeal could be forthcoming.
“It is frustrating when judges refuse to address the merits of a case and duck by saying the law is not yet in effect and plaintiffs have not proven that they will be arrested if they violate the law,” Gottlieb said in an email. “We will continue this litigation and force a judge to rule that the law is illegal.”