Washington has weak gun laws that help feed the illegal gun market, allow the sale of guns without background checks and allow the sale of military-style assault weapons, according to the Brady Campaign. In the organization’s 2009 state scorecards released for all 50 states, Washington earned just 17 points out of a total of 100.
“Since Washington does not require Brady criminal background checks on all firearm sales including those at gun shows, gun traffickers don’t need to leave the state to funnel illegal guns to felons and gang members,” said Heidi Yewman, spokesperson for the Washington Million Mom March.