CNN Newsroom: Gov. Jay Inslee Is Interviewed On The Assault Weapons Ban In Washington State

Interview

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Well, I've been working on this for nearly 30 years. I provided a pivotal vote to pass the assault weapon ban back in 1994. It was effective in reducing mass shootings for 10 years. Then the Republicans let it expire and they have increased. We know this policy works. I'm super glad that we've been able to pass it.

But I do want to point out. It's not the only thing we're doing. We know that inaction is unacceptable in the face of this scourge. So, we have banned assault weapons, but we also have another important bill, which is to require safety training for anyone to purchase a firearm and have a 10-day waiting period.

Both of these things in combination in states that have done this have had significant reductions in gun violence. And a third bill that will hold manufacturers liable if they don't comply with their legal obligations. So, we're taking three, I think, significant steps forward. None of these singularly are going to eliminate gun violence. We know that. But there's still significant steps.

Look, these weapons of war have no place in our schools, on our streets. They have muzzle velocities twice the power and twice of the capacity to damage human flesh. The only purpose they were designed was mass murder and therefore we're taking this step.

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It can and it should. Ben Franklin was not toting an AR-15 back in the day. It was not designed to turn our streets and our schools in the kind of thing you're seeing in Ukraine right now, which is warfare. And I cannot believe that Franklin and his friends intended to have weapons of war somehow to dominate our lives. We should be free. This is a freedom issue. Free to send your kids and freedom to be able to send your children and have them come home safely. That's a freedom issue that we'd like to have.

And so, I think this is a rational, common-sense policy. We're not eliminating gun ownership and we're essentially only limiting those things that are not necessary to protect your home. You don't need an AR-15 to protect your home. It's only intent to spray high velocity, extremely destructive slugs in mass numbers. Who needs that to protect your home for goodness sakes?

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This is a reasonable approach.

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Well, as Bob Dylan saying the times, they are a changing and they are because Americans have had a belly fold to being subjected to this constant gun violence. There has been a dramatic shift in the public in this regard. This is a winning issue for Democrats. I know this. I got elected in 1998, beat an incumbent Republican part because he was protecting AR-15.

And the moms and dads and grandparents of my district wanted their kids protected instead of the guns. And that is a rapidly changing perception in the United States. And I would suggest to Democrats it's a winning issue, particularly in the suburbs, and it has changed dramatically this issue in the last 20 years. This is something now that we rightfully can hold Republicans account -- to account for their protecting the NRA instead of our children.

And that is a clear decision we're calling upon all elected officials to make. So, I think it's -- this isn't the reason to do it, but it's something that ought to be part of every campaign in my view.

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Well, yeah, we had effectively ended it with my moratorium. There was a decision by our Supreme Court involving an unconstitutional provision of the law. It's time for us as a nation to understand this is not necessary. It is not a deterrent to violent crime. It was just more state sponsored violence.

And it has been historically, unfortunately, there has been racial insensitivity in its application. We know a number of people who have been on death row for years and found out they were innocent. The system of justice is not perfect enough to be taking the lives of its citizens by the government.

And I think it was the right decision several years ago when I put in the moratorium in place. And so, we didn't need the statute and we've eliminated that from further consideration. It's time to move past that debate and move forward on things we need to do.

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I'm fully supportive of him because of what he's done and what he's going to do. He has had a remarkable series of successes. I know there's a lot he's done. I want to focus on what he's done in helping create clean energy jobs with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. He is creating jobs by the millions including in my state.

I can't turn over a rock without meeting a young person who is going to have a career, servicing and building electric cars, solar panels, heat pumps, pump storage facilities, wind turbines. We are seeing an explosion of economic opportunity and job creation because of what he's done. I have played a part in our state as well. Our states are actually can do more in the federal government.

But what he's done in this regard gives us a chance for our kids. I was on Mount Rainier, a beautiful mountain yesterday with the Secretary of Interior. We have lost one half of all of the glacier ice just during my lifetime because of climate change, and we have a president who understands not only do we need to step up to the plate to give our kids a shot at a decent life, protected from the ravages of climate change, but giving them careers that they can be involved in frequently about this and the necessity of a college education.

So, the J in Joe stands for jobs. I think of his presidency and I know he's going to keep doing it. And he is sharp by the way. We went to White House about a month or so ago. He is -- he's on the top of his game right now. He's ready for the next four years.

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Well, it's not for him, you know, maybe for a bunch of other folks, but not for him. Look, I've been in meetings with him.

And I can tell you we have a president that is so much sharper, so much more truth teller, and so much more integrity than what it looks like. It might be plan B, which is the losing president, who did so much destruction in this country. I have no qualms about supporting him a hundred percent. I'll be there.

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