Groups | Search | Server Info | Login | Register

Groups > la.general > #3604

Obtuse Los Angeles County supervisors to consider gun control measures penalizing honest gun owners in wake of Monterey Park mass shooting

Cross-posted to 5 groups.

Show all headers | View raw

In the wake of a devastating mass shooting in Monterey Park last month in 
which 11 people were killed during a Lunar New Year celebration, the Los 
Angeles County Board of Supervisors is set to evaluate and discuss new gun 
control measures in hopes of curbing gun violence in the county.

Several motions are expected to be presented at Tuesday’s Board of 
Supervisors meeting, with proposals both ambitious and small in scale.

Countywide gun owner registry
Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Hilda Solis have proposed a motion that 
would direct the County’s legal counsel to study the feasibility and 
legality of implementing a countywide gun registry.

The registry would be created in partnership with the Los Angeles County 
Sheriff’s Department and would use existing data and records to create a 
database that is “easily accessible for law enforcement first responders.”

Horvath and Solis say that the current system for gun tracing is a slow 
and tedious process and a countywide registry would make it easier for law 
enforcement officers to track down criminals.

“Having access to a database that lists the firearm(s) registered to a 
certain address would allow first responders to better assess the 
situation and adjust their approach accordingly when responding to a call 
for service at an address with a licensed firearm,” the motion reads.

Even if the Board of Supervisors agrees to move forward with the proposal, 
a countywide registry would not be immediately implemented and it would 
likely face many legal challenges. Federal law currently prohibits the 
Federal Government from having its own nationwide gun owner registry, the 
motion says.

Liability insurance
Additionally, the motion directs Los Angeles County to look into the 
possibility of requiring gun owners in the county to carry some form of 
liability insurance for their firearms.

The hope, according to the motion language, is that the insurance 
requirement will encourage firearm owners to “take safety classes, use gun 
safes, install trigger locks, or utilize chamber-load indicators.”

The idea of liability insurance requirement is a popular suggestion among 
gun control advocates, and the Supervisors’ proposal says there is some 
data to support its effectiveness.

The County’s Counsel would be required to report the findings of both the 
registry and insurance items within 90 days of the motion’s passage — if 
it passes.

Warning signs and secure storage
While those two proposals are quite ambitious and abstract at the current 
juncture, there are two additional items that appear likely to move 
forward with some immediacy.

If passed, the County would require new signage that warns of the dangers 
of firearms to be displayed at businesses where guns are sold.

Additionally, a requirement could be instituted that would require 
firearms at a gun owner’s home be securely stored in a locked container or 
disabled with a trigger lock.

Citing a study from the Journal of the American Medical Association, the 
proposals states that households with locked firearms and ammunition saw a 
vast decrease in self-inflicted firearms injuries and a much lower risk of 
unintentional firearms injuries among children.

Currently, California law requires firearm owners to keep guns safely 
secured and requires trigger locks be sold simultaneously with firearms 
sales. But, the motion argues, the State does not clearly define what 
counts as “safe storage” and the requirement only exists for home in which 
children live or regularly visit.

“The County has the ability to build upon state law with specific 
requirements for safe gun storage which could prevent the unintentional 
deaths of children and teen suicides by as much as 85% depending on the 
type of storage and could also prevent guns from being easily stolen in 
the case of a home invasion,” the motion reads.

Consumers can buy gun storage devices that are approved by the United 
States Department of Justice for as little as $40 and trigger locks can 
often be obtained for free from police and sheriff’s stations.

Assault weapons ban
Another motion authored by Solis and Supervisor Janice Hahn urges the Los 
Angeles County Board of Supervisors to publicly support efforts by 
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein to reinstate the nation’s expired ban on 
the sale and manufacture of assault weapons.

.50 caliber ammo ban and County property restrictions
And a third motion, also authored by Solis and Hahn, aims to ban the sale 
of .50 caliber firearms and ammunition in Los Angeles County and restrict 
the carrying of firearms on County property.

County property includes beaches, playgrounds, plazas and County 
department buildings, the motion reads.

Both ordinances have been researched and are ready for immediate 
introduction, Hahn and Solis say.

That motion also includes language to evaluate L.A. County’s zoning 
regulations. If passed, the County will begin researching the legality of 
implementing zoning restrictions on firearms dealers, including 
establishing a safe “buffer zone” to keep those businesses a yet-to-be 
determined distance from schools, parks and daycares, among other 
“sensitive areas.”

It will also call for stricter requirements for ammunition and firearms 
dealers to become licensed locally.

The L.A. County Department of Regional Planning and Treasurer and Tax 
Collector would be tasked with finalizing those two ordinances and would 
be asked to submit the findings to the Board for approval “as soon as 
possible.”

“Too many people have lost loved ones to gun violence in Los Angeles 
County. We must be united in our fight against gun violence and enhancing 
local regulations is an important part of the fight,” Solis and Hahn wrote 
in that motion.

It’s unclear at this time which, if any, motions will survive past 
Tuesday’s Supes meeting, but the Board currently carries a 4 to 1 Democrat 
majority and the lone Republican, Supervisor Kathryn Barger, has at times 
shown a propensity to support increased gun control measures during her 
terms as Supervisor.

<https://ktla.com/news/local-news/los-angeles-county-supervisors-to-
consider-gun-control-measures-in-wake-of-monterey-park-mass-shooting/>

Back to la.general | Previous | Next | Find similar

Thread

Obtuse Los Angeles County supervisors to consider gun control measures penalizing honest gun owners in wake of Monterey Park mass shooting Seriously Stupid Democrats <stupid.democrats@yahoo.com> - 2023-02-07 03:11 +0100

csiph-web