State's 5 Catholic bishops back I-1639, gun safety initiative

Suzanne Mercier, a close friend of Cafe Racer owner Kurt Geissel, looks upwards during a prayer service at St. James Cathedral for the victims of Wednesday's shootings on Friday, June 1, 2012. Six people, including shooter Ian Stawicki, died after Stawicki killed a woman at 8th Avenue and Seneca and later opened fire at Cafe Racer. less Suzanne Mercier, a close friend of Cafe Racer owner Kurt Geissel, looks upwards during a prayer service at St. James Cathedral for the victims of Wednesday's shootings on Friday, June 1, 2012. Six people, ... more Photo: LINDSEY WASSON Photo: LINDSEY WASSON Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close State's 5 Catholic bishops back I-1639, gun safety initiative 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

The state's five Catholic bishops have thrown their support to Initiative 1639, the gun safety measure that would raise to 21 the minimum age to purchase an assault rifle in Washington and expand background checks.

"We offer our support for I-1639 given our view that it will help to ensure a higher level of public safety while balancing constitutional rights around gun ownership," said the bishops, representing the Archdiocese of Seattle and Diocese of Spokane and Yakima.

In their statement, the bishops mentioned four shooting/massacre incidents on both sides of the mountains in the past five years.

The list includes the killing of five students at Marysville-Pilchuck High School in 2014, the murder of three young people at a 2016 house party in Mukilteo, the massacre of five people at the Cascade Mall in Burlington and an incident that left one dead and three wounded in 2017 at Freeman High School outside of Spokane.

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"Violent tragedies have become far too frequent in our communities and very powerful weapons are often too accessible," said the bishops.

"Recent mass shootings in our country have confirmed that violent tragedies have become far too frequent in our communities and very powerful weapons are often too accessible."

The statement was signed by Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain and Bishops Eusebio Elizondo and Daniel Mueggenborg; Yakima Bishop Joseph Tyson; and Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly.

It marks an unusual entry into the public arena for Sartain, whose predecessors were outspoken on such issues as immigrant rights, the death penalty and the role of indigenous peoples on the Columbia River.

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The Catholic bishops, in 2014, backed a successful initiative that closed the "gun show loophole" and required criminal background checks for those purchasing firearms at gun shows and online.

"While acknowledging the importance of constitutional liberties such as gun ownership, the U.S. Catholic Conference has long supported measures to bring thoughtful safeguards to the sale and use of firearms," the bishops wrote.

"These include a ban on assault weapons, setting an appropriate minimum age for gun ownership, and requiring reasonable safety measures. Endorsing such common sense practices flows from our moral responsibility to protect human life at all stages."

I-1639 would raise from 18 to 21 the minimum age for purchase of an assault rifle. It would require a 10-day waiting period, as well as training in firearms safety.

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The initiative would require that purchasers of assault weapons undergo the same background checks as those buying handguns. It would also require safe storage, making owners liable if an improperly stored gun is stolen and used in a crime, or falls into the hands of children.

The Seattle-area faith community was at the forefront in creation of a gun safety movement following the massacre of 20 first graders at a Newtown, Connecticut, elementary school in December 2012.

The movement has featured marches between St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral and St. James Cathedral, including one after the mass murder of more than 50 patrons of an Orlando, Florida, nightclub in 2016.