Post by: Blacktail Sniper on September 13, 2023, 12:25:43 PM
JARED WENZELBURGER / JARED@CHRONLINE.COM
Posted Wednesday, September 13, 2023 8:56 am
Ellen Dennis / The Spokesman-Review (TNS)
The Washington attorney general is suing a Cowlitz County gun shop for allegedly breaking state law in offering thousands of high-capacity magazines for sale.
Gators Custom Guns in Kelso, Washington, has reportedly continued to sell illegal assault rifle magazines to the public, despite a state law passed in 2022 that banned the distribution of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Tuesday filed a 12-page consumer protection complaint against Gators and shop owner Walter Wentz in Cowlitz County Superior Court. The court document details a lengthy sweep by the state of nearly 90 gun shops across Washington to check that retailers were complying with the high-capacity magazine ban. The "vast majority" of stores appeared to comply with the ban, the complaint says.
Gators, on the other hand, showed a "brazen, defiant and egregious violation of laws" with their inventory of more than 11,000 high-capacity magazines, the state alleges.
When state investigators stopped in at Gators, they reportedly saw several barrels containing hundreds of high-capacity magazines for sale, the largest collection they'd encountered since the ban took effect.
In May, Gators sold a total of five illegal high-capacity magazines to investigators on two occasions, the complaint alleges, including magazines with the capacity to hold 40 rounds, compatible with both handguns and assault-style weapons such as the AR-15.
"Gators owner Wentz himself transacted the second sale," reads the legal complaint.
The court document also contain photos investigators took inside the gun store depicting rows of barrels and boxes full of high-capacity magazines for sale.
The sign on one barrel reads:
"AK-47 MAGAZINES
30RD
12.99 +TAX."
Wentz declined to comment on the lawsuit Tuesday, adding that he might comment on the case in the future. Wentz deferred to the litigation team at Silent Majority Foundation, a nonprofit with a self-described mission of protecting "our God given constitutional rights."
Silent Majority Foundation director Rob Waltz told The Spokesman-Review that his organization had yet to decide whether it will represent Gators in the lawsuit filed Monday, but that the organization worked with Wentz on an "unrelated" case that Waltz declined to provide information on.
Gators opened its doors in 2010. Wentz, of Castle Rock, is the only registered owner of the store.
The Gators case is the second lawsuit filed by the government agency since the 2022 ban of high-capacity magazines.
In 2022, Ferguson filed suit against Federal Way Discount Guns for selling high-capacity magazines. One month later, a King County judge issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the shop from selling high-capacity magazines. The Federal Way store and owner Reza Baghai were held in contempt of court for reportedly continuing to sell the high-capacity magazines.
A superior court judge ruled in April that Federal Way Discount Guns violated the state Consumer Protection Act.
The legal complaint filed against Gators seeks civil penalties for every violation of the Consumer Protection Act. Under state law, the maximum penalty is $7,500 every time a retailer has sold or offered to sell a high-capacity magazine.
State attorney general's office spokesperson Brionna Aho said the lawsuit was not intended to assert the store sold all 11,000 illegal magazines, but that the state confirmed the gun shop had that quantity in their inventory.
"We don't have the exact figure of how many of those were actually sold," Aho said. "We'll continue to look into that as the case moves forward. To be clear, offering to sell them is still in violation of the legislation. It's illegal to have a big shelf of magazines for sale."
Since 1980, high-capacity gun magazines have been used in at least 85 shootings in the United States, causing 791 deaths and more than 1,100 injuries. The number of children killed by gunfire in the United States increased 50% between 2019 and 2021. Black children in 2021 were five times more likely to die in a mass shooting than white children. Gun shootings are the leading cause of death among children and teens in the United States today.
Tuesday's legal complaint pointed to recent national mass shootings, as well as Washington state's own bleak history with gun violence.
"Unfortunately, mass shootings continue, as does the use of weapons equipped with (large-capacity magazines) to reign terror upon our communities, including three this year alone — Monterey Park, Nashville, and Allen," reads the complaint. "Washington State is no stranger to these terrible events, as evidenced by mass shootings in recent years in Mukilteo and Burlington."
Post by: Bearhunter on September 13, 2023, 12:41:37 PM
Post by: Ridgeratt on September 13, 2023, 12:58:49 PM
I bet they confiscated them for evidence.
Post by: JimmyHoffa on September 13, 2023, 01:07:18 PM
Post by: pickardjw on September 13, 2023, 01:08:55 PM
Post by: timberfaller on September 13, 2023, 01:14:20 PM
Post by: 2MANY on September 13, 2023, 01:49:33 PM
Post by: HntnFsh on September 13, 2023, 02:10:55 PM
Great place!
Hope they come out of this ok.
Post by: pianoman9701 on September 13, 2023, 02:14:56 PM
Now I know where to go and get more Magazines! We should all show up and buy up all the inventory in support of the gun shop!
Anything you post on the internet stays there forever.
Post by: Ghost Hunter on September 13, 2023, 02:20:23 PM
Post by: hunter399 on September 13, 2023, 02:24:04 PM
It's funny how legislation and voter initiatives only get enforced ,when it fits the narrative.
Old bob won't receive my vote.
Just as inslee has never received a vote by me.
But yet again Im forced to smell there pile of BS.
Post by: Phillip.beaudry on September 13, 2023, 05:02:54 PM
Post by: slavenoid on September 13, 2023, 07:58:00 PM
Post by: GWP on September 14, 2023, 07:01:28 AM
"Death by a thousand cuts" is the aim.
How many small sporting goods stores, or any small stores, have we lost in the last 3 years?
A LOT. Most can not afford to do much court time, and our local Gov't is using OUR money to go after them, treating it like it is THEIR money to toss around for any agenda that fits their program, regardless of any public input or the location of the business.
Pretty sad state of affairs these days.
Post by: dreadi on September 14, 2023, 07:53:58 AM
We’ve experienced gun shops closing as part of compound issue of legislation and economics. FFLs still in business either have enough capital to have changed their inventory to match their customer base, with what can legally sell, have had enough capital to ride out the trend of lower spending, or a number of other aspects.
Personally, the ripple affect of multiple stores closing that are within a half hour of me has not increased my business. The fact that most everything costs significantly more than it did in recent time is causing most people to spend less on items that aren’t necessities. So, thanks, Inslee for raising the price of fuel which raises the cost of everything and passing gun control at the same time. These people are playing chess and we are playing boggle.
BLACK HAMMER ARMS
07/02 NFA Dealer
http://www.blackhammerarms.com
http://www.facebook.com/blackhammerarms
https://www.instagram.com/blackhammerarms
Post by: ducks4days on September 14, 2023, 07:54:28 AM
The crazy thing, and it seems to be going on a lot, is the local Gov't passes a law that is illegal, knowing it will get overturned in court, but enforces it anyway until it gets turned over. It gets shot down, after causing all kinds of trouble for business or regular folk, then they pass another and the process starts over again.
"Death by a thousand cuts" is the aim.
How many small sporting goods stores, or any small stores, have we lost in the last 3 years?
A LOT. Most can not afford to do much court time, and our local Gov't is using OUR money to go after them, treating it like it is THEIR money to toss around for any agenda that fits their program, regardless of any public input or the location of the business.
Pretty sad state of affairs these days.
How many shops lose buying experience with vendors and drop supply chains on parts for this? Even when it gets overturned, the damage is done. We all pay more at fewer places able to recover from the damage, and every citizen of the state loses.