State's 5 Catholic bishops back I-1639, gun safety initiative
The state's five Catholic bishops have thrown their support to Initiative 1639, the gun safety measure that would raise to 21 the minimum age to purchase an assault rifle in Washington and expand background checks.
"We offer our support for I-1639 given our view that it will help to ensure a higher level of public safety while balancing constitutional rights around gun ownership," said the bishops, representing the Archdiocese of Seattle and Diocese of Spokane and Yakima.
In their statement, the bishops mentioned four shooting/massacre incidents on both sides of the mountains in the past five years.
The list includes the killing of five students at Marysville-Pilchuck High School in 2014, the murder of three young people at a 2016 house party in Mukilteo, the massacre of five people at the Cascade Mall in Burlington and an incident that left one dead and three wounded in 2017 at Freeman High School outside of Spokane.
"Violent tragedies have become far too frequent in our communities and very powerful weapons are often too accessible," said the bishops.
https://www.seattlepi.com/local/politics/article/State-s-five-Catholic-bishops-back-I-1639-gun-13340630.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailynewsletterspi&utm_term=spi
