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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Two gun control issues will be on Washington ballot

OLYMPIA – Washington voters will face a pair of gun control issues this fall and will probably decide whether to have fewer students in some public school classes.

But, because of a lack of support, citizens won’t be voting on efforts to change the U.S. Constitution on campaign finances or the state constitution on raising taxes.

The deadline for submitting initiative signatures passed Thursday without sponsors showing up for two of the most talked-about measures.

Sponsors of I-1329, which called for a constitutional amendment that would ban political contributions from corporations, fell short of the required 246,372 signatures needed to make the ballot, campaign chairman Jay Heyman said. They did not show up for the scheduled drop-off of petition signatures Thursday afternoon.

Tim Eyman said his latest effort to force a state constitutional amendment to require supermajorities in the Legislature to raise taxes, I-1325, also doesn’t have enough signatures to make the ballot.

On Wednesday, supporters of a proposal to reduce the number of students in kindergarten through grade 3 classes throughout the state, and in other grades in high poverty areas, turned in nearly 330,000 signatures. That’s enough of a cushion that I-1351 likely will qualify for the ballot.

A pair of dueling initiatives on gun control were submitted to the Legislature this January and go on the ballot because legislators didn’t do anything about them. I-591 says state laws on background checks for gun purchases can’t be any stricter than federal law, while I-594 would extend background checks now required on purchases from gun dealers to private sales.