Illegal Access to Guns at Issue

Alarmed by what police describe as a flood of illegal firearms on the streets of Los Angeles, a City Council panel recommended Monday that residents be required to tell the LAPD within 48 hours if a gun has been stolen or lost.

Councilman Jack Weiss, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, said such a law would stymie “straw buyers” -- people who purchase guns for minors, felons and others who are not legally authorized to carry firearms.

“When cops investigate the guns used in violent crimes, they will often trace them back to an individual who at the end of the day will just shrug, throw their hands up and say: ‘Gosh, that gun was stolen from me some time ago’ or ‘I lost that gun,’ ” Weiss said. “That’s not what’s really going on. People are purchasing weapons as straws for individuals who are prohibited from purchasing weapons.”

The proposed ordinance, which will go before the full council for consideration, is also backed by Los Angeles Police Department officials, who said 2,200 people were shot in the city last year and 6,600 illegal guns were seized.

“The vast majority of the guns, we have no idea who the owners were,” Assistant Police Chief Earl Paysinger told the panel. “And many of those guns were used to take lives in horrible, despicable ways.”

A commander in charge of LAPD detectives told council members that the reporting requirement would simplify investigations by detectives who otherwise have to spend time tracing the original owner of guns involved in violent crimes.

One suspect was found to have 100 guns registered to him, including 12 that had been used in crimes, including a homicide, officials said.

The ordinance would also require anyone who has had a gun stolen or lost in the last five years to report it to the LAPD within 60 days. Failing to report a stolen or missing gun would be a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of a year in jail.

Councilman Dennis Zine, a former LAPD officer, voted for the proposed law even though he says it does not carry much force.

“My concern is we do something that has some teeth,” Zine said. “Misdemeanors -- we don’t get prosecution. We don’t get incarceration.”

Advocates said that although a similar pending state bill would make such violations a felony, there was no guarantee that the bill would be passed, adding that similar legislation has previously been killed in Sacramento.

Councilman Greig Smith, who like Zine is a reserve police officer, also supported the new law with misgivings. He noted that it would require an owner to report that a gun was stolen or lost within 48 hours of becoming aware that it was missing.

“The bad guys can always say ‘I didn’t know it was gone,’ ” Smith said.

In an interview, a representative of the National Rifle Assn. said the proposal is flawed because a gun owner may not know for months that a weapon has been stolen or lost. Andrew Arulanandam, director of public affairs for the NRA, also questioned punishing someone who is a crime victim but missed the deadline for reporting.

“It’s double jeopardy for a victim, and the law should be on the victim’s side, not the criminal’s,” he said.

As a community leader who has been active for years in efforts to reduce gun violence, former Assemblyman Rod Wright reluctantly supported the proposal, but told the panel that “rather than try to push the law-abiding citizen under the rug” the city should provide more educational programs to gun owners.

The panel also heard testimony from emergency room surgeons and community activists.

“What I’ve seen over the years is just a lot of devastation caused by firearms injuries,” said Dr. Bryan Hubbard, a trauma surgeon at California Hospital Medical Center. “There’s just a plethora of guns on the streets, so if there is any way we can control them, it will help.”