The Deadly Certainty

What is the sole purpose of semiautomatic assault weapons--military-style guns like the Uzi, the AK-47 and the AR-15--that can blast through walls and cars? The powerful rifles, as described by Times staff writer John Hurst, are designed solely to kill people at close range. They are not designed for hunting or anything else. Their increasing popularity with gang members, drug dealers and other criminals should prompt the state Legislature to approve a total ban on them.

State Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) has indicated that he will carry legislation proposed by a law-enforcement task force that includes police officers, sheriffs and prosecutors. They want the guns off the streets, and they are right.

Roberti will need plenty of help in Sacramento to overcome the powerful gun lobby. Similar legislation--which would have prohibited the manufacture, sale and possession of nine specific semiautomatic weapons--failed in the Assembly in June. Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Mike Roos (D-Los Angeles), the sponsor of the bill, is willing to try again.

The proposed legislation, which is still in draft form, would ban both the sale and possession of semiautomatic rifles. A ban would shield innocent bystanders who cannot protect themselves and police who often find themselves outpowered. The police officers’ guns hold the standard six bullets. The criminals’ semiautomatic assault rifles hold 30 to 70 rounds of ammunition.

The new legislation would also create a state regulatory commission to determine whether new or renamed semiautomatic rifles could be sold or owned. That step would prevent gun dealers from getting around the ban by simply renaming the weapons or manufacturing new models. The idea is not new. Maryland earlier this year established a commission to identify guns that may be manufactured and sold in that state. Violators risk fines of up to $10,000--a penalty large enough to cut into the profits made on the sale of dangerous guns.

Semiautomatic guns are pretty easy to come by. There is no 15-day waiting period before purchase as is the case with handguns. There is no questionnaire and no background check for criminal violations. Potential owners need prove only that they are at least 18, show a driver’s license for identification and hand over as little as $400 for an AK-47 with 1,000 rounds of ammunition.

Despite the lack of restrictions, gun dealers claim that collectors buy most of the semiautomatic guns and that only a few of them end up in the hands of criminals. Police officers, deputies and prosecutors differ. From their vantage point, the front lines in the battle against crime, they see a steady increase in the number of victims who have been hit by semiautomatic gunfire. The death toll should prove persuasive in Sacramento. The California Legislature should stop at nothing short of an outright ban on guns that are designed solely to kill--with deadly certainty.