Global Courant 2023-04-21 13:30:52
TACOMA, wash. – Customers stripped entire sections of the wall at Surplus Ammo & Arms this week and flocked to the Tacoma gun store for guns on the verge of becoming illegal in Washington state.
“Most everything runs out,” says store manager Bruce Smith.
WHY WASHINGTON GUN SHOPS ‘ARE RUN OUT OF EVERYTHING’:
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As Smith spoke to Fox News Wednesday afternoon, one of his associates leaned over the counter and gave an update: House Bill 1240 had officially passed.
House Bill 1240 bans so-called “assault weapons” — primarily semi-automatic rifles — with exceptions for law enforcement and the military. The bill passed the Senate earlier this month. It was amended and had to be sent back to the House where lawmakers approved the amendments.
The bill contains an emergency clause, so it will take effect immediately upon its signing by Governor Jay Inslee.
“They’re going to ban all AR-style guns and anything attached to those guns,” Smith said. He estimated that sales have doubled in the past month, with customers focusing primarily on rifles like the AR-15, kits and replacement parts. “People focus on what they can’t get.”
The ban bills over 60 specific firearms, most of them semi-automatic long guns. Semi-automatic pistols and shotguns with certain characteristics described in the bill may also be banned, but the specific weapons are not listed.
A woman learns to shoot with an AR-15 at a shooting range in University Place, Washington. Washington residents are prohibited from purchasing AR-15s and dozens of other semi-automatic rifles under a new law passed by the legislature. (Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News Digital)
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Smith said semi-automatic rifles are a large part of the Surplus Ammo and Arms stock.
“Most of our sales will be in the AR style or some of the guns they ban,” he said. “A significant portion of our inventory may not be sold.”
Washington becomes the 10th state to pass a ban on so-called “assault weapons.”
Smith said the ban will put some companies “out of work”.
“They will close,” he said. “Trying to move into something completely different that you’re selling, that you’re not known for, and then competing with the big box companies that have 60,000 square feet of retail space, that this is just part of it. You know, that becomes very difficult.”
Bruce Smith faces a wall of semi-automatic rifles. Any guns behind him will be illegally sold to Washington residents once Governor Jay Inslee signs House Bill 1240. (Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News Digital)
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The future is unclear for Surplus Ammo & Arms.
“What’s next is a good question,” Smith said. “We’re still figuring that out ourselves.”
Click here to hear more from Smith.
Hannah Ray Lambert is an associate producer/writer at Fox News Digital Originals.
