EDMONDS — The National Rifle Association has filed a lawsuit against the city of Edmonds over its new gun law.
The NRA, a gun rights group called The Second Amendment Foundation and two Edmonds residents accuse the city of violating the state’s pre-emption statute with its new “safe storage” gun law. The groups filed a similar lawsuit against Seattle last month in King County Superior Court.
The Edmonds law, passed in a 5-1 vote July 24, orders gun owners to safely store firearms or face fines of up to $10,000 for civil infractions.
The city, Mayor Dave Earling and Police Chief Al Compaan are named as defendants in the lawsuit, which claims that Washington law prohibits cities from adopting gun laws that supersede state authority.
“It is clear to us that a handful of cities are trying desperately to erode Washington’s long-standing preemption law,” SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb said in a news release Tuesday. “Their goal is to discourage citizens from exercising their rights under the state and federal constitutions by financial intimidation.”
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