After Initiative 594 passed this evening, The Seattle Times editorializes:

On the intractable issue of gun control, Washington voters have shot back.

Tuesday, voters took aim at the state Legislature’s inability last year to pass basic, public-safety-focused background checks. And they shot holes in the myth that the National Rifle Association, and its allies, represent the public interest.

. . .

The 3-to-2 margin in favor of I-594 indicates voters saw through the disingenuous argument made repeatedly by opponents of I-594 that background checks are the first step toward mass gun confiscation.

They also saw through the smoke screen from I-594’s opponents, who claimed the measure would criminalize such transfers as intrafamily gifts. It will not.

Instead, I-594 represents a restatement of the compact gun owners have with society: The fundamental right to keep and bear arms is not absolute.

Some members of society lose that right, due to mental illness or criminality, yet can easily buy firearms via unregulated online gun bazaars. Keeping guns out of their hands should give comfort to law-abiding gun owners and non-gun-owning citizens.

. . .

This is a historic moment for Washington voters. Nationally, I-594 was the only gun control measure on a statewide ballot. The state’s message should be heard around the country.

Read the full editorial here.