Paul Allen donates $1M to Washington gun initiative
May 21, 2018 Updated Mon., May 21, 2018 at 6:11 p.m.
SEATTLE – Microsoft co-founder and Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen has donated $1 million to a campaign seeking to raise the age to purchase semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21 in Washington state.
Allen made the announcement Monday on Twitter.
The Alliance for Gun Responsibility said Initiative 1639 also would create a background check system similar to the one required for handguns, require completion of a firearms safety course and create standards for safe gun storage.
The group’s initiative effort comes after lawmakers in the Democratic-controlled Statehouse declined to bump the minimum age to buy semi-automatic weapons after the February mass shooting at a Florida high school.
The alliance needs roughly 260,000 petition signatures before the initiative can qualify for the 2018 ballot.
In 2014, Allen donated $500,000 to a successful campaign seeking to expand background checks on gun sales in the state.
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