Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced last week that he will ask the Legislature to pass a law in the 2017 Session to ban some types of assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.

The proposal has earned support across Washington state, and we urge state lawmakers to take up — and pass — this needed legislation.

Last month, the Bainbridge Island City Council added its voice to the collective call for responsible reforms to this state and country’s gun laws.

In an August resolution, Bainbridge leaders noted that there have been 82 mass shootings in the United States since 1982, and 45 mass shootings since 2006. Few states have avoided these senseless tragedies; they’ve occurred in 33 states, with many — including the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, an Aurora, Colorado movie theater and the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida — marked by the use of military-style assault weapons fitted with high-capacity ammunition magazines.

Most Americans, including many gun owners, support sensible restrictions on guns and gun ownership. Bainbridge’s resolution and call for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines notes that easy access to such weapons of war is not needed by civilians, especially during a time of rising international and “lone wolf” domestic terrorism.

Though we’re supportive of Ferguson’s proposed legislation, it doesn’t go far enough. It bans only semiautomatic weapons “with military-style features that render them more easily concealable or more deadly.”

It also only considers new sales of weapons, and wouldn’t require registration of existing weapons.

Still, it’s a start, and a worthy one when paired with a ban on limiting ammunition magazines to a maximum of 10 rounds.