Two Washington billionaires say they have each donated $1 million in support of getting a gun safety measure on the November ballot.
The measure, Initiative 1639, would expand background checks, raise the purchase age for semiautomatic assault rifles to 21, and require people purchasing semiautomatic assault rifles to have completed a safety training program.
The organization backing the initiative, the Alliance for Gun Responsibility, was also behind recent successful ballot measures to expand background checks and create extreme risk protection orders.
On Twitter Monday, Microsoft cofounder/real estate developer/Seahawks owner Paul Allen and venture capitalist/"unapologetic capitalist"/$15 minimum wage supporter Nick Hanauer each announced they'd given $1 million to the effort.
My statement on a gun safety initiative in my home state of Washington:
Initiative 1639 is a reasonable and necessary measure that will improve the safety of our schools and our communities, which is why I have contributed a million dollars to the campaign. 1/2
— Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen) May 21, 2018
Thank you @PaulGAllen. Leslie and I are proud to join you and will donate $1 million as well. https://t.co/ivctBFeJUy
— Nick Hanauer (@NickHanauer) May 21, 2018
The Alliance for Gun Responsibility says it raised a "nearly $3 million" at a luncheon Monday, including Allen's and Hanauer's donations. The group says the average gift Monday was $49. (The donations haven't yet been reported to the state public disclosure commission.)
The initiative push comes after the state legislature failed to pass a similar gun measure this year. The group will need about 260,000 signatures by July to appear on the ballot.
