Lakewood gun shop WGS Guns will pay $15,000 to the state Attorney General's Office after it broke the state's ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines for firearms, the office announced Wednesday.
Investigators visited the shop two months after the ban went into effect in July and were able to buy two high-capacity magazines, a 13-round clip for a Glock 23 pistol and a 15-round clip for a Glock 22. According to a news release, a clerk said he would have to ring up the purchases as something else and provided investigators a false receipt for 9 mm ammunition.
WGS Guns was one of two retailers in Washington that the state Attorney General's office found was not complying with new law in a sweep of 25 firearms shops. Federal Way Discount Guns is facing an ongoing lawsuit for its violation. The AG's office said that in subsequent visits to WGS Guns, the shop complied and did not sell the illegal magazines.
"Our sweep confirmed that the overwhelming majority of gun retailers in Washington are doing the right thing and complying with the law," Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a news release. "We will continue to proactively enforce this law, and take action against anyone who illegally sells high-capacity magazines."
The operation included stores in King, Pierce, Thurston, Snohomish, Yakima, Kittitas, Benton and Spokane counties.
An attorney representing WGS Guns, Russel Knight, said Thursday that an error with an employee who hadn't been trained correctly after the law went into effect led to the sale of the high-capacity magazines. Knight said the $15,000 the store paid the state was the result of a negotiated resolution to release WGS Guns from liability.
"The real story and real picture here is that the law changed July 1st," Knight said. "Although it took a couple weeks to get everyone up on board, WGS Guns is in full compliance, has been fully released from all liability and intends to continue to comply."
Asked if WGS Guns sold any other high-capacity gun magazines in the two months before investigators went there, Knight said he didn't have any knowledge of that. According to the AG's office, the store did not display the unlawful magazines on any of investigators' three visits.
The AG's office also tried to buy high-capacity magazines displayed on WGS Guns' website. The office said the orders were canceled by the store, and it explained to the undercover buyers that selling a magazine that holds more than 10 rounds was illegal in Washington. The assurance of discontinuance filed Wednesday legally requires the store to not fulfill online orders for the unlawful magazines and remove them from its website.
The law prohibiting the sale of the ammunition clips does not prohibit the possession of high-capacity magazines. The AG's office cited a 2019 study published in the American Journal of Public Health that found states without this kind of ban has double the number of high-fatality mass shootings compared to states with bans.
