Seahawks Owner Paul Allen Donates $1M To Gun Safety Campaign

Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen is the latest famous figure to voice his support for the movement to reduce gun violence.

Seahawks Owner Contributes To Gun Safety Initiative

On Monday, Allen — the co-founder of Microsoft alongside Bill Gates — pledged to donate $1 million to new Initiative I-1639, which is seeking signatures to be added to the Washington state ballot in November’s midterm elections.

“Initiative 1639 is a reasonable and necessary measure that will improve the safety of our schools and our communities, which is why I have contributed a million dollars to the campaign,” Allen said in a statement. “I hope people throughout the state will support the campaign, so that we can qualify and pass this important initiative into law.”

The campaign is sponsored by the Alliance for Gun Responsibility. According to the Seattle Times, venture capitalist Nick Hanauer also said he is contributing $1 million to the initiative.

The website gunresponsibility.org says the initiative proposes increasing the minimum age to buy semiautomatic rifles and other assault weapons to 21, instituting stricter background checks and firearms safety courses, and pushing for safe gun storage standards.

The national gun reform debate was revived after Friday’s school shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas’ Houston area, where a 17-year-old student at the school killed 10 people (eight students, two teachers). Texas is known for being a state with a heavy gun-loving culture, thus many people fear there will not be as great of a push for gun control as there has been in other states.

Allen is also the owner of the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers, and is part-owner of Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders FC.

The Seattle Times reported that in 2014, Washington residents voted in favor of Initiative 594, which expanded gun-purchase background checks in the state. The newspaper also stated that in order for I-1639 to appear on the ballot in November, the campaign must earn at least 259,622 signatures from registered voters by July 6.