Local News in Brief : 2 More Cities Ban Assault Weapons

The cities of Carson and Lynwood became the third and fourth municipalities in Los Angeles County to outlaw semi-automatic “assault weapons,” including the AK-47 assault rifle that was used to kill five schoolchildren and injure more than two dozen others in Stockton last month.

The weapons--which allow a gunman to shoot dozens of bullets rapidly without reloading--have become increasingly popular among gangs in the southern part of Los Angeles County, according to police, and have been banned in Los Angeles and Compton.

The Carson ban, which was passed on an emergency basis Wednesday, received unanimous support from the five-member council. Councilwoman Vera Robles DeWitt, who proposed the ban, said a request by the city for gun shop owners to stop selling the rapid-firing weapons had failed to win support from all the city’s gun shops.

The ordinance makes it a misdemeanor to sell or possess semiautomatic rifles that accept a magazine of 20 rounds or more. The ban also includes sawed-off shotguns that can fire more than six rounds without reloading.

The Lynwood city council passed unanimously Thursday night what Mayor Evelyn Wells called a “preventive measure.”

There was no debate, and no one in the sparse audience spoke for or against the measure, which became effective immediately.

Copies of the ordinance, based on the one recently passed by the Los Angeles City Council, were to be sent to surrounding cities and to the Legislature with the urging that they pass similar measures. Penalties are six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.