Washington state Democrat Attorney General Bob Ferguson, now running to become the state’s next governor, is boasting on social media about the endorsement he received from the Alliance for Gun Responsibility, a gun prohibition lobbying group.
The Alliance is a Seattle-based and billionaire-backed organization that supports a ban on so-called “assault weapons” and “large-capacity magazines,” both of which have become law in the Evergreen State over the past two years. The gun ban is being challenged in federal court. The magazine ban has been declared unconstitutional by a Cowlitz County Superior Court judge, but his ruling has been stayed by an unelected state Supreme Court commissioner, pending a hearing and ruling by the state high court.
In his message, posted Wednesday on “X” (formerly Twitter) following the Alliance’s annual fund raising luncheon in Seattle, where he was the keynoter, Ferguson stated, “Today, the Alliance for Gun Responsibility endorsed my campaign for Governor. I was proud to join advocates for responsible gun policy at the Alliance’s annual lunch. I led efforts for common sense gun reforms, and made our schools and communities safer. In contrast, Dave Reichert did not stand up to the gun lobby in Congress. Instead, he repeatedly voted with them against measures to combat gun violence – including background checks. I will stand up to gun violence and the gun lobby. Dave Reichert will not.”
Today, the Alliance for Gun Responsibility endorsed my campaign for Governor. I was proud to join advocates for responsible gun policy at the Alliance’s annual lunch.
I led efforts for common sense gun reforms, and made our schools and communities safer. In contrast, Dave… pic.twitter.com/qTcU3SWeKU
— Bob Ferguson (@BobFergusonAG) May 9, 2024
Reichert is the leading Republican gubernatorial contender. A former seven-term congressman and the former King County sheriff who brought the notorious “Green River Killer” to justice, Reichert came out of retirement to run for the office after watching law enforcement decline and crime increase on Ferguson’s watch as attorney general.
Ferguson evidently considers Reichert his chief opponent, although Eastern Washington conservative Semi Bird is also running, and did win support at the state Republican Party convention recently in Spokane.
As if to underscore the problem in Washington while Ferguson has been in the AG’s office—he’s in his third term—the Tacoma News Tribune recently reported a study from a California-based law group declaring Washington the eighth-most dangerous state. That study was based on FBI crime data.
Earlier this week, the Lynnwood Times reported on a study from a different group, identified as the Omega Law Group, another California-based law group, ranking Washington as the “second-most dangerous state,” also based on FBI crime data.
Ferguson’s announcement is essentially a warning siren to Evergreen State gun owners that he is not their friend, as if that were not already obvious. He supported legislation to ban semi-auto rifles and magazines, and back in 2018, he made headlines by endorsing gun control Initiative 1639, which raised the minimum age for purchasing a semi-auto rifle to 21 years and added other restrictions.
Reactions to the Ferguson announcement on “X” has been overwhelmingly negative.
By no small coincidence, Ammoland News on Wednesday reported on a former Bellevue, Washington resident who used to work at one of the state’s busiest gun stores, and who moved to Post Falls, Idaho last year to open his own gun store there. The report includes a link to his video urging Washington gun owners to oppose Ferguson and support his opponent.
