BELLEVUE, Wash. — The same day as a lawsuit was filed over Washington's ban on sales of high-capacity magazines, Kristin Purvis stood with her son on a corner in Auburn and used a megaphone to get her message out about gun violence.
“After the mass shooting that happened in Texas, I just couldn’t even believe that it was still happening, and we had to rise up and say no more,” said Kristin Purvis.
During a National Gun Violence Awareness event on Friday, the Alliance for Gun Responsibility said data shows there is an average of more than 120 gun deaths per day in the United States.
There were 877 firearm related deaths in the state in 2021, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
This year, the state passed a law banning the sale of high-capacity magazines. It goes into effect on July 1.
On Friday, Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation filed a federal lawsuit against Attorney General Bob Ferguson and other officials challenging the state ban.
“What our concern here is, is that by denying people a magazine that will hold more than ten rounds for their standardly issued firearms, it really impedes their chances of self-defense, and it violates the Second Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment as well,” said Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson said he’s confident his office will prevail in court.
“We are accustomed to seeing the Second Amendment Foundation in court, and we are accustomed to defeating them and we plan on doing that again,” said Ferguson.
Ferguson added that a lot of thought and care went into drafting the legislation and courts around the country have upheld similar bans.
Back in Auburn, Purvis was among the many taking part in demonstrations to raise awareness about gun violence.
“We are not trying to take anyone’s guns away. I am a gun owner. I’m a responsible gun owner. Mine is locked up at home,” said Purvis. “If you are a responsible gun owner I am not talking to you. I am talking to the people who are irresponsible who keep on making these decisions over and over again, and I am asking our leaders to rise up and do something about it.”