OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson are again calling on lawmakers in the upcoming legislative session to ban assault-style semiautomatic rifles .

Inslee and Ferguson joined legislators and others Monday affected by the recent gun violence in Tukwila, Washington, to announce upcoming legislation to reduce gun violence. The legislation addresses assault weapons, permits to purchase guns and holding businesses that sell guns liable.

“We know that Washington state is not passive, and we do not have to surrender to this scourge of gun violence,” Inslee said at the news conference.

The proposal would ban the sale, manufacture and import of assault weapons in Washington. It would exempt the manufacture and sale for law enforcement and the military. Similar to the high -capacity magazine ban last year, the proposal does not ban the possession of assault weapons.

Inslee called assault-style firearms “weapons of war.”

“There are no legitimate reasons for them in our society,” Inslee said.

Another proposal would hold firearms manufacturers and sellers liable if they fail to establish, implement and enforce reasonable controls in the manufacture, sale, distribution and marketing of firearms.

A federal law protects gun manufacturers and sellers from liability in some circumstances, such as a gun being stolen from a shop without the owners knowing, but Congress allowed states to pass their own laws regulating sales.

Under the proposed law discussed Monday, Ferguson said manufacturers and sellers could be held liable if they are irresponsible. If such weapons got into the wrong hands as a result of the seller’s actions, then a lawsuit could be brought.

A number of other states, including New York, New Jersey, Delaware and California, have similar laws in place, Ferguson said.

Sen. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, and Rep. David Hackney, D-Tukwila, will sponsor the bill.

Pedersen said sellers and manufacturers have to accept responsibility for the “dangerous products” that they sell. If they fail to keep them out of the hands of people who are going to do damage, Pedersen said, “they will have their day in court.”

Hackney said retailers need to be held responsible because “more guns do not make my community safer.”

Inslee also proposed permit-to-purchase legislation, which would require a person to have a permit in order to purchase a gun.

“It’s time to ensure you have safety training to purchase a gun,” Inslee said.

The proposed legislation comes after a shooting last month at Ingraham High School in Seattle that left a 17-year-old student dead.

Ingraham High School student Sofie Blazejova said it was hard to put into words the amount of fear she felt during the Nov. 8 shooting.

“I demand that we do not lose any more lives to preventable gun violence,” Blazejova said at Monday’s news conference.

Ferguson had one recent gun victory from last session when Inslee signed into law a bill that prohibits the making, selling or distributing of firearm magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Ferguson had requested the legislation since 2017.

He announced earlier this month the first lawsuit for unlawfully selling high-capacity magazines .

Ferguson sued Federal Way Discount Guns and its owner, Mohammed Reza Baghai, hoping to stop the store from selling the high-capacity magazines. Baghai faces a maximum penalty of $7,500 every time the store offered a high-capacity magazine for sale and $7,500 every time it illegally sold one, according to Ferguson’s office.

The store has since set up a fundraiser to raise money to fight for its Second Amendment rights, according to the shop website.

The Legislature also passed a package of bills last year that limit the use of firearms without serial numbers, or “ghost guns,” and restrict gun use at ballot counting centers, election facilities and school board meetings.

It’s unclear if Democrats have enough votes to push the new legislation through to passage, but Sen. Patty Kuderer, D-Bellevue, said Washington can’t wait for action at a national level on gun legislation.

“It is the responsibility of every lawmaker at every level of government to pass effective gun safety policies to reduce the number of these weapons in our communities,” she said.

Republicans are likely to oppose measures as they have been hesitant to support most gun control bills in the past.

Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, called the proposals unconstitutional and “a waste of taxpayers’ time and money.”

“The governor, state attorney general and their allies need to stop wasting state resources and join the rest of us in focusing on what matters,” Walsh said in a statement.

Ferguson said he believes the actions are constitutional and consistent with federal laws. He pointed to other assault weapon bans in other states that have been upheld in federal court.

On the proposal surrounding seller liability, Ferguson said the federal law does allow states to implement their own restrictions if they choose to do so.

Inslee also pointed to his proposals to increase mental health resources and to hire and train more law enforcement officers as other ways he is hoping to prevent gun violence.

The Legislature will meet Jan. 9 for its 105-day session.