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SEATTLE - Three state lawmakers say they'll try to ban the sale of assault rifles - which they insist have only one purpose: to kill people.
The lawmakers cite numerous cases - including Aaron Sullivan, who was just 18 when he died in July, and Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton, who died three months and three days later.
Both were killed with assault rifles, they say. And now the three legislators and Washington Cease Fire are saying enough is enough.
"I understand people want to use weapons to go out and kill deer, no problem," says state Sen. Adam Kline, the measure's chief sponsor, who plans to introduce the bill in the Legislature's next session. "This (measure) is to prevent mass murder. It won't prevent murder, it will prevent mass murder."
The bill to block the sale of assault weapons is named for Aaron Sullivan, whose mother says the time to control guns is now.
"He was 18, but he was my baby. The boy who shot him was 19," says Debra Sullivan, Aaron's mother. "Legally they are considered men, but they are somebody's baby, and how do we save our babies and stop our babies from killing other babies?"
Records show there are about 80,000 assault rifles in Washington state. The bill wouldn't confiscate them, but it would outlaw future sales.
Gun rights activists say 98 percent of those guns are owned by law-abiding citizens. But why own one?
"Sporting reasons, target shooting," says Alan Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation.
But control advocates are not convinced.
"These weapons are made for one purpose only - to kill human beings," says Harry Bailey, a former assistant police chief.
Adds Kline: "These are not innocent little toys."
Observers say the bill may not have much of a chance of passage, since the Legislature will be so busy with a $2 billion budget problem.
And if the bill does pass, the Second Amendment Foundation says it will immediately challenge the law in court.
The lawmakers cite numerous cases - including Aaron Sullivan, who was just 18 when he died in July, and Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton, who died three months and three days later.
Both were killed with assault rifles, they say. And now the three legislators and Washington Cease Fire are saying enough is enough.
"I understand people want to use weapons to go out and kill deer, no problem," says state Sen. Adam Kline, the measure's chief sponsor, who plans to introduce the bill in the Legislature's next session. "This (measure) is to prevent mass murder. It won't prevent murder, it will prevent mass murder."
The bill to block the sale of assault weapons is named for Aaron Sullivan, whose mother says the time to control guns is now.
"He was 18, but he was my baby. The boy who shot him was 19," says Debra Sullivan, Aaron's mother. "Legally they are considered men, but they are somebody's baby, and how do we save our babies and stop our babies from killing other babies?"
Records show there are about 80,000 assault rifles in Washington state. The bill wouldn't confiscate them, but it would outlaw future sales.
Gun rights activists say 98 percent of those guns are owned by law-abiding citizens. But why own one?
"Sporting reasons, target shooting," says Alan Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation.
But control advocates are not convinced.
"These weapons are made for one purpose only - to kill human beings," says Harry Bailey, a former assistant police chief.
Adds Kline: "These are not innocent little toys."
Observers say the bill may not have much of a chance of passage, since the Legislature will be so busy with a $2 billion budget problem.
And if the bill does pass, the Second Amendment Foundation says it will immediately challenge the law in court.
