Federal judge upholds Washington state gun industry accountability law

March 9 (UPI) -- A federal judge has dismissed a challenge to a Washington state law that would hold gun makers and sellers accountable for preventing their products from getting into the wrong hands.

U.S. District Court Judge Mary Dimke on Friday dismissed the National Shooting Sports Foundation's complaint against Senate Bill 5078 in which it argued the bill is unconstitutional on First and Second Amendment grounds.

The ruling in Spokane, Wash., brought praise from Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

"My legal team remains undefeated against the gun lobby in court," Ferguson said in a statement. "This law protects Washingtonians from gun violence by ensuring that gun industry members face real accountability when their irresponsible conduct harms our communities."

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed the act in April 2023, which holds firearms manufacturers and retailers accountable for putting "reasonable controls" -- such as screenings -- on the manufacture, sale, marketing and distribution of firearms.

Failure to do so would violate the state's Consumer Protection Act and public nuisance law.

The new law also allows people injured or killed due to illegal firearms industry conduct to pursue damages under state law, potentially bypassing a 2005 law that protects firearms industry members from civil suits for crimes committed with their products.

The NSSF sued Ferguson immediately after the law was signed, claiming that it unlawfully regulates the activity of firearms industry members outside of the state.

Dimke, however, argued NSSF did not specify the nature of its members' work or that such work would violate the law once it went into effect.

"Instead, NSSF relies on the fear that its members will be subject to liability for otherwise lawful conduct," Dimke wrote. "There must be a further allegation that its members 'intend to engage in conduct arguably proscribed' by the law at issue."

The judge also dismissed the foundation's claim that the law violates members' First and Second Amendment rights by regulating the promotional speech of firearms dealers and their right to bear arms.

Dimke said the Second Amendment does not "independently protect a proprietor's right to sell firearms."

Ferguson has won a handful of challenges to Washington state gun laws, such as a challenge to the ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines in September and a challenge to the state's ban on the sale of assault weapons last June.