One State’s Gun Control Initiative Will Appear on the November Ballot Despite Questionable Practices

The Washington State Supreme Court on Friday overturned a lower court’s decision on the state’s controversial gun control ballot initiative, I-1639. The Court ruled unanimously that the initiative must appear on the November ballot.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Second Amendment Foundation, along with a handful of individuals, previously challenged the initiative’s state constitutionality. According to NRA and SAF, the ballot initiative’s supporters didn’t follow state laws regarding proper formatting.

“The problem with the petitions is that they failed to underline new law and strike through removed law so that the reader could not know the current law, added law and subtracted law,” Alan Gottlieb, Founder and Executive Director of SAF, previously told Townhall.

“If they are so careless about knowing what is, or is not, shown on their own petitions, how is anyone else supposed to know? They’re asking people to sign an initiative that is difficult, if not impossible to read,” Gottlieb said. “And now we’ve discovered that even if people can read the fine print, it does not appear to be a ‘true and correct copy’ of the proposed measure as submitted to the state.

According to the Court, the statute the NRA and SAF referenced is “narrow” and
“it does not allow for preelection judicial review of the form, process, substance, or constitutionality of an initiative petition.” (Read more from “One State’s Gun Control Initiative Will Appear on the November Ballot Despite Questionable Practices” HERE)

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