Washington Gun Owners Receive 90-Minute Reprieve From Magazine Ban

Democratic-led jurisdictions and blue states nationwide continue to push for stricter gun control laws, as evidenced by the bill seeking to ban semi-automatic firearms that recently advanced through the Colorado state House.

One such state, however, recently offered gun owners a reprieve — albeit only for about an hour and a half.

According to reports, a judge in Cowlitz County, Washington, determined last week that the state’s ban on magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds was unconstitutional. This ruling opened up a short window of time during which such magazines could legally be sold before Attorney General Bob Ferguson requested and received an emergency stay ahead of a hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

One enterprising gun store owner in Kelso seized the opportunity and opened up his business — Gator’s Custom Guns — on a day it was ordinarily closed, dubbing it “Magazine Day” and advertising the firearm accessory that had been illegal to sell just one day earlier.

Wally Wentz, who had been a vocal critic of the high-capacity magazine ban, said he received assistance from the Silent Majority Foundation in getting the word out about the promotion via social media.

Shortly thereafter, the store was inundated with eager customers, he told a local news outlet.

“A flow of constant ‘Thank yous,’ ‘Do you have this?’ ‘Do you have that?’ ‘How many can I have?’” Wentz said of the experience.

“Is there a limit?” one customer reportedly asked him, prompting him to reply: “What’s your limit on your gold card?”

As for what he believes will become of the controversial issue, he expressed a willingness to appeal all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.

“It’s going to be a tough argument to throw this out,” he said of the state Supreme Court. “If they do, it’s really going to smell like fish.”

Speculating about such a scenario, Wentz declared: “If we do lose in there, we’re going to appeal, just like we knew the state would appeal this week. If we get to those folks in black dresses, it’s going to be a dogfight.”

Since the statewide prohibition went into effect in 2022, Wentz said that he has lost between 30% and 40% of his business.