Washington state seeks to ban sale of 'assault weapons,' high capacity magazines

AR-15 rifles are displayed for sale at the Guntoberfest gun show in Oaks, Pennsylvania, US. [Reuters]

If successful, Washington would become the seventh US state to ban assault weapons, which it defines as semi-automatic rifles with at least one military feature, and the ninth to limit the capacity of ammunition magazines.

“We should be making it harder for those who want to inflict mass violence and destruction upon innocent people,” Governor Jay Inslee said in announcing the gun-control push. “By limiting magazine capacity and banning assault weapons, we can work toward a day where no one in Washington state loses a friend or family members to senseless gun violence,” Inslee said.