Dhingra outlines ideas for gun control legislation

Manka Dhingra, candidate for the 45th Legislative District Senate seat, held a press conference on Friday outlining her ideas for gun control legislation she would propose if elected.

These would include banning any modifications or accessories that would let semi-automatic firearms shoot at rates comparable to fully automatic guns.

An example of this is a bump stock, which uses the recoil of a semi-automatic rifle to fire the next shot, meaning the shooter only needs to pull the trigger once to shoot multiple rounds.

Bump stocks are legal because they are considered an accessory and not a mechanical modification to the gun, which are illegal.

The second piece of legislation would be to close loopholes that allow people with a record of harassment domestic violence to own weapons.

Dhingra said more than half of women who are killed in the U.S. with a firearm are killed by an intimate partner.

She also would propose closing another loophole that allows those with mental health issues and a history of violence to own guns.

Dhingra also stressed that people with mental health issues are far more likely to be the victims of violence than perpetuate it.

Gun legislation is something that Dhingra said she has been working on well before the election.

“It’s something that I’ve actually been passionate about for years,” she said.

Dhingra is a senior deputy prosecuting attorney for King County and said she has seen numerous cases of domestic violence and she sees a link between it and gun violence.

“These are not new issues to me,” she said.