Effort follows call to impeach Ferguson, Gov. Inslee
OLYMPIA — Despite the overwhelming objection of new gun control laws across most of Eastern Washington, State Attorney General Robert “Bob” Ferguson is pushing for more.
As a result, Ferguson is now the subject of both impeachment and recall efforts statewide. Gov. Jay Inslee is also the subject of a request for impeachment.
On Dec. 16, Matt Marshall of Eatonville filed a recall petition for Ferguson with the Secretary of State's Office.
To get the recall on the ballot, Marshall has to collect signatures from approximately 500,201 qualified voters.
The petition cites Ferguson's alleged malfeasance and violation of oath of office in using his position to support Initiative 1639, a statewide gun control measure resoundingly rejected in Eastern Washington but passed on the strength of urban voters in the Puget Sound region.
Lincoln County voters led the objection effort, with 75.09% of voters rejecting the measure that passed mostly on the approval by urban voters in the Puget Sound region.
East of the Cascades, voters in 18 of 20 counties overwhelmingly rejected the measure that redefined semi-automatic rifles — including small .22 caliber rifles — as “assault rifles. I-1639 also made it illegal for adults ages 18-20 to purchase and own semi-automatic rifles, required firearms dealers to also sell gun safes, mandated more stringent background checks and make owners criminally liable if their gun is used in an incident, even if the firearm was stolen.
The recall effort comes just days after Austin Thornhill of Kennewick started a petition last Friday to impeach Ferguson and Gov. Jay Inslee over Second Amendment violations related to the initiative and Ferguson's planned continued assault on firearms owners.
Ferguson on Monday announced that he would push the Legislature to pass new laws mandating background checks on ammunition, restricting clip size to less than 10 rounds and making it illegal to own or possess a firearm with a single military-style feature.
As of press time, Thornhill's online petition was has been signed by more than 75,000 people since Friday.
The petition is online at https://www.change.org/p/washington-residents-removal-of-ag-bob-ferguson-and-governor-jay-inslee?source_location=petitions_browse.
In the petition, Thornhill wrote:
“We the people of Washington State are calling for the impeachment of Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Governor Jay Inslee for not upholding the Oath of Office and protecting our State and Federal Constitution.
Our Second Amendment has been under constant attack from these two elected officials and now they want to tell us what kind of weapons we can or can’t have and how many rounds we can hold in a magazine!
“Enough is enough it’s time for action before it’s to late. It’s time we take a stand against our Government and give it back to the people of our great state.”
Kennewick is in Benton County, where 60.86% of voters rejected the measure.
In Eastern Washington, only voters in Spokane and Whitman counties — which have a large influx of urban students and professors due to the presence of universities — supported I-1639.
In Spokane County, 50.89% of voters backed the measure and in Whitman County support hit 54.33%.
Roger Harnack is the owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. Having grown up Benton City, Roger is an award-winning journalist, columnist, photographer, editor and publisher. He's one of only two editorial/commentary writers from Washington state to ever receive the international Golden Quill. Roger is dedicated to the preservation of local media, and the voice it retains for Eastern Washington.
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