Levi Pulkkinen at the Seattle P-I writes:

Federal prosecutors claim Aberdeen resident Steven Allen Gay was buying pistols on Facebook groups run by Washington gun enthusiasts just months after he was convicted of identity theft. Gay, 31, is alleged to have sold two handguns to an undercover detective.

. . .

Gay, who was sentenced in January to two months in jail, has been prohibited from possessing guns since 2002, when he was convicted of burglary. Federal prosecutors in Seattle contend neither conviction stopped him from shopping for pistols online.

. . .

Two competing initiatives related to gun control will be on the November ballot. One – I-594 – would require background checks for all gun sales, including online sales. Another – I-591 – would prohibit Washington from enacting gun laws more stringent than the federal standard, which only requires background checks if the seller is a licensed gun dealer.

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