SEATTLE – Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson proposed Thursday afternoon new legislation to combat mass shootings in Washington. His proposal comes in the form of three bills.

The first bill seeks to limit the capacity of magazines to 10 rounds. Currently, high-capacity magazines are legal to purchase in Washington state, such as the one’s used in two mass shootings in Washington in the last four years in Mukilteo and Burlington.

The second proposed bill seeks to ban the sale of assault weapons. The bill would “grandfather in” weapons purchased before the legislation goes into effect, and makes an exception for law enforcement, military personnel, and shooting ranges.

The final bill Ferguson is proposing would strengthen state rules surrounding ammunition sales. It would prohibit violent felons and anyone who can’t legally obtain firearms from buying or possessing ammunition, and it would make it illegal for firearms dealers to knowingly sell ammunition to those same people. The bill would also require ammunition sellers to get a state firearms license.

Finally, the ammunition legislation would also seek to require a background check for all ammunition sales.

Here in Washington, changes impacting all gun owners took effect in January of this year. Initiative 1639, which was passed by a majority of Washington voters in 2018, raised the legal age to buy a semi-automatic rifle to 21.