Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced May 7 that his office successfully defended Washington’s voter-approved Initiative-594, which expanded the state’s firearm background check requirements, against a challenge in federal court.

U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle dismissed the case of Northwest School of Safety v. Ferguson, in which the plaintiffs argued that the recently enacted law is unconstitutional.  The court found that the Plaintiffs had suffered no injury from I-594, and thus lacked legal standing to challenge the law.

“It is my job to stand up for and protect the will of the voters,” Attorney General Bob Ferguson said, “I am proud of the work my office has done in this case to defend the challenge to I-594.”

Initiative 594 passed with 59 percent of the vote in the November 2014 general election. It expands Washington’s law requiring background checks to cover all firearm purchases and transfers, with limited exceptions set forth in the Initiative.

A copy of the court’s ruling is available here.