(US Air Force photo)
Washington already has I-1639, the massive gun control initiative that will be on the November ballot, as well as Seattle’s new safe storage law. Now, King County has its own gun control initiative.
RELATED: Seattle council unanimously passes safe storage laws for gun owners[1]
The King County Council voted Monday to approve its Gun Safety Action plan, encompassing four gun safety measures proposed by Councilmembers Jeanne Kohl-Wells and Joe McDermott that cover a lot of ground.
The overall theme is to treat gun violence like a public health crisis.
“Over 35,000 people are killed every year…victims of gun violence, across our country and it’s something we need to respond to (as) a public health crisis much like we have tobacco use and vehicular deaths,” said McDermott.
“This is a start at doing this. No single piece of legislation, no single package will solve the problem but we have to start taking incremental steps that solution,” he added.
The four proposals include the creation of a firearm safety task force to study the public health responses to gun violence, specifically focused on intervention and prevention.
A second proposal requires the sheriff’s office destroy all guns it legally seizes from criminals, rather than re-sell them.
“There’s no reason why we need more firearms out on the streets. If a firearm is forfeited, seized legally, the policy of the last at least three sheriffs has been to destroy those firearms, and we want to encode that in county ordinance,” McDermott said.
Among the more interesting proposals is the commissioning of a youth-led report on gun violence.
“Whether it’s crime or mass shootings, or whether it’s a
