L.A. Council Takes 1st Step Toward a Ban on Semiautomatic Guns

Amid a rash of killings involving the AK-47 assault rifle, the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday moved to ban the sale and possession of military-style semiautomatic weapons within the city.

The unanimous action gave the city attorney one week to draft a law. But even its main sponsor, Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, conceded that the ordinance may be vulnerable to legal attack. Yaroslavsky added, however, that even if unenforceable, the city ban will offer a symbolic boost to state efforts to outlaw the high-powered rifles.

At the urging of Councilman Nate Holden, the council also called on President Bush to order a ban on importing assault weapons and urged local gun dealers to agree to stop selling such rifles as the AK-47, Uzi and AR-15.

In recent days, Holden and a Los Angeles radio station have offered up to $300 for each rifle turned over to police. So far, 68 have been collected, police said Tuesday.

Tuesday’s council votes came on the heels of several recent shootings in which assault rifles were involved. The most prominent incident was a Jan. 17 tragedy in which five Stockton schoolchildren were slain by an AK-47-toting gunman, Patrick Edward Purdy, who later fatally shot himself. Twenty-nine other students and a teacher were wounded in the hail of bullets.

An Uzi-toting man was shot to death Tuesday in Long Beach in what police believe was a drug transaction. An armed man shot the unidentified 25-year-old victim in the 6300 block of Long Beach Boulevard, police said. The victim attempted to raise his Uzi to firing position but was unable to when the weapon became entangled in his clothes, police said.

The City Council acted a day after two local lawmakers, state Sen. David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) and Assemblyman Mike Roos (D-Los Angeles), proposed making it a felony to sell, manufacture, import or possess semiautomatic weapons such as the AK-47 and the Israeli-made Uzi. Assemblyman Johan Klehs, (D-San Leandro), meanwhile, proposed boosting the two-year minimum prison sentence to life behind bars for a person convicted of assaulting anyone with a military-style rifle.

Although the statewide anti-weapons measures have received initial support, they are expected to face strong opposition from pro-gun advocates.

Referring to the likely legislative battle in Sacramento, Yaroslavsky said a city ordinance could serve as a stopgap measure until the state acts. He said a state law would be preferable because a local ban could not stop a Los Angeles resident from buying a rifle in a nearby city.

Yaroslavsky predicted that a local ban on such weapons might face legal hurdles, however. While confident that a ban on sales of semiautomatic weapons would fare well in the courts, he said an outright prohibition on possession of such guns may be vulnerable to a legal challenge. That is because state law would preempt any local ordinance on possession, he said.

“If we approve such an ordinance locally, let someone sue us,” Yaroslavsky said. “Let someone sue and say that the city of Los Angeles does not have the right to protect the public health and welfare of its citizens.

He’ll Take the Chance

“Let the (U.S.) Supreme Court say to the second largest city in the United States that it does not have the right to ban the sale of weapons of war to its citizens,” Yaroslavsky added. “I’m willing to take my chances.”

Kent DeChambeau, a Sacramento-based lobbyist for the 40,000-member California Rifle and Pistol Assn., said that any Los Angeles ordinance banning possession of semiautomatic weapons would be invalid on its face. He added, however, that it is not clear whether the city can outlaw the sale of such assault rifles.

DeChambeau branded as “headline grabbing” the Los Angeles City Council action and said the real battle should be conducted in the state capital, rather than in individual cities. Compton has also moved to ban the sale of semiautomatic weapons. DeChambeau added that the pro-gun group--the California arm of the 300,000-member National Rifle Assn.--has not decided whether it will actively oppose the city’s effort.

The prospect of a local weapons ban has already attracted opposition.

Councilman Hal Bernson, a conservative Republican who until now has balked at most gun-control moves, said he has received letters threatening political retaliation if he supports a ban on semiautomatic weapons. Bernson said Tuesday that he nevertheless will vote to outlaw military-style rifles such as the AK-47.

Time to ‘Speak Out’

“As one who has always supported the right of gun owners within reason, I feel the time has come to speak out,” Bernson said.

He said the assault rifles “go way beyond” the type of weaponry favored by sportsmen.

Generally, a semiautomatic weapon is one that fires a round for each squeeze of the trigger. Automatic weapons, which fire continuously with one pull of the trigger, are already illegal.

Assistant Police Chief David Dotson told reporters that when Chief Daryl F. Gates recently began speaking out against the sale and manufacture of military-style semiautomatic rifles, there also was some strong public reaction.

“Some of them blistered the phone lines pretty good,” Dotson said.