Rantz: Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison turns on gun shops in desperate bid to appease the Radical Left

Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison has filed a lawsuit that is as disappointing as it is transparently political. She’s willing to help destroy small businesses in order to save her political career. While her career deserves to be saved, and she deserves re-election, she’s going about it in a disgraceful way.

The suit claims that Glock pistols are “uniquely susceptible” to illegal modification with so-called Glock switches. These devices, which convert semi-automatic pistols into fully automatic weapons, are already banned under state and federal law. Their sale, possession, and use are criminal acts. Yet instead of focusing her office’s resources on the criminals importing and distributing these devices, Davison has chosen to target the manufacturer and retailers who sell lawful Glock handguns.

This is not about keeping Seattle safe. This is about Davison shoring up her political left flank ahead of re-election.

This lawsuit is driven by selfish politics

Ann Davison knows a progressive challenger is leading in her re-election campaign.

She knows the city’s activist class already wants her gone. She’s a Republican elected in a city that hates Republicans, but was able to sneak into office by the mere fact that she was running against an extremist progressive who actively said she would not prosecute crimes in Seattle. Her chances of victory this time around are very, very slim. Unfortunately so.

And so, she has manufactured a crusade against area gun shops to curry favor with the very progressives who never wanted her in office to begin with. And they will be wholly unmoved by this politically-motivated, frivolous lawsuit.

Implications of the scheme are real

The consequences of this kind of pandering are serious.

Seattle has spent years punishing the law-abiding while excusing the lawless. Gun stores that comply with every federal and state requirement are being dragged into court, treated as if they are accessories to crime, merely because they sell Glocks, which Davison ludicrously claims should completely change the way they manufacture guns, because third-party devices, which are already illegal to sell or use, can alter their handguns. That gun shops sell Glocks is the reason for being targeted, forcing business owners to defend themselves for legally selling a product they’re allowed to sell.

This is how unbearably anemic the legal argument is: “These authorized dealers not only sell Glock products but also contribute to Glock’s presence in Washington through marketing, customer service, and community engagement. Their operations demonstrate Glock’s purposeful availment of the Washington market, supporting the exercise of specific personal jurisdiction over the company in the state.” This is why the gun shops are being targeted.

Meanwhile, the gang members and traffickers actually using these switches will not be touched by this lawsuit. They will continue terrorizing neighborhoods while Davison chases headlines meant to curry favor with radical voters who won’t change their vote, anyway. And unnecessarily caught in the crosshairs are gun shops.

Shocking abuse of power

This is a shocking misuse of the City Attorney’s office. It undermines the rights of Seattle’s residents, who are guaranteed the ability to purchase firearms under the Second Amendment. It jeopardizes small businesses that provide jobs, training, and services to their communities. And it signals to every law-abiding gun owner that their rights are disposable when political expedience requires it.

I expected more from Davison. She has shown herself capable of standing up to progressive orthodoxy before. But this case is a surrender. It is a frivolous attempt to appease critics who will never accept her. And it comes at the expense of the Constitution, the small business owners who serve this region, and the citizens who follow the law.

Seattle is not safer because of this lawsuit. It is weaker. And the people responsible for real violence—the criminals wielding illegally modified firearms—are once again being let off the hook. That is shameful.

Ann Davison may believe this helps her in a campaign. But what it really shows is a willingness to sacrifice principle for politics. And that is not the leadership Seattle needs.

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