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OLYMPIA — With pistols holstered at their hips or rifles slung across their shoulders, gun-rights supporters Thursday morning filled the Capitol steps. The “594 Rally for Sanity” was primarily aimed at protesting Initiative 594, which voters passed in November with 59 percent of the vote. I-594 expands background checks beyond the current federal standard to…

OLYMPIA — After a brief break, — gun-rights supporters held a rally here almost exactly a month ago — the skirmish over Washington state gun laws resumes Thursday. At 9 a.m., gun-rights supporters will rally at the steps of the Capitol for the “594 Rally for Sanity.” I-594, which voters approved in November, expanded…

Shouldering rifles and handmade signs decrying government overreach, hundreds of demonstrators gathered Saturday at the Capitol campus in Olympia to oppose Initiative 594. I-594, which voters approved in November  by a 19-point margin, expands gun-purchase background checks to private sales and transfers of firearms. “We stand here on this field to exercise our First Amendment right to exercise…

One the speakers listed for Saturday’s demonstration in Olympia against the new law expanding gun-purchase background checks is the son of Cliven Bundy. Cliven, you might remember, is the Nevada rancher who pushed back against attempts by the government to take away his cattle and who later suggested black people might be better off as slaves picking cotton. Ammon Bundy is listed…

Washington state voters this month approved — by a wide margin — the expansion of gun-purchase background checks to private sales and transfers. Now that Initiative 594 has passed, gun-rights supporters are shifting gears from working to defeat a proposal to opposing a new law. Opponents have claimed the law will criminalize law-abiding gun owners for handing each…

We wrote Tuesday about a planned rally in Olympia to demonstrate against the freshly-passed Initiative 594, which will expand gun-purchase background checks to private sales and transfers. Demonstrators plan to bring their firearms to the state Capitol on Dec. 13 and exchange them in what they say will be a violation of I-594, which they…

Opponents of Initiative 594, the measure to expand gun-purchase background checks that voters approved this election cycle, have insisted it is so strict it would criminalize law-abiding gun owners who hand each other firearms, like at a gun-safety course. Now, such opponents are going to test their understanding of the measure during a rally next month in Olympia, where…

UPDATE 3:38 p.m.:  In the original version of this post, we neglected Skagit County, which also voted yes on both measures. Sorry, Skagit. We’ve updated the numbers below to reflect its inclusion, too. In the months leading up to the November ballot, people wondered what would happen if both gun-related initatives on the ballot, I-591 and I-594,…

The morning after voters approved Initiative 594, the proposal to expand gun-buyer background checks to private sales and transfers, the measure’s supporters declared they’d take their momentum to lawmakers in Olympia. “We are here this morning to announce that we are not packing up our tents, claiming victory and going home,” said Sandy Brown, president of…

Voters in Washington state are approving Initiative 594, which would create  one of the nation’s toughest background checks for gun purchases. In Tuesday’s returns, I-594 was being supported by nearly 60 percent of voters, winning handily in eight of the 10 largest counties. The initiative would extend background checks to purchases made online and at gun…