Sponsors of an initiative to require background checks for more gun sales will turn in some of the signatures Wednesday that they need to send the measure to the Legislature next year.

Members of the Initiative 594 campaign said Tuesday they plan to turn in about 225,000 signatures. or about 70 percent of their goal, as a way of "demonstrating tremendous support" for the proposal. It would require background checks for most private gun sales or transfers, beyond the current requirement of background checks for sales by dealers.

To be certified as an initiative to the Legislature, a proposal needs a minimum of about 250,000 signatures, although most campaigns try to get a substantial cushion of extra signatures to cover names that aren't registered or are duplicates. Most campaigns wait until they have reached their targets, or the deadline in late December, before submitting signatures.

Also gathering signatures this year is I-591, a separate initiative to the Legislature that would forbid gun confiscation without due process and require a national standard for expanded background checks. 

The Legislature can pass an initiative without changes and make it law, or it can ignore or reject it, which puts it on the ballot next November. It can also pass an alternative, which would put both the original initiative and the alternative on the November ballot.

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