Assault Weapon Ban Approved by Assembly : Bill Squeezes Through With Bare Minimum and Is Returned to Senate; Next Step Is Uncertain

The Assembly narrowly passed Monday night and returned to the Senate legislation to ban the sale of most military-style assault weapons and severely restrict their possession by private citizens.

The action marked the first time that a bill to outlaw such firearms had been approved by both houses of the California Legislature, which historically has been reluctant to impose controls on gun ownership.

The vote, which dragged out over six hours, was 41 to 34. The 41 votes were the minimum needed for passage in the 80-member Assembly. However, it was uncertain whether the bill, which previously passed the Senate, would now be sent by the upper house to Gov. George Deukmejian or to a two-house conference committee for further refinement.

Would Accept Distinction

Deukmejian, who favors banning assault weapons, has indicated that he would sign a bill that made a clear-cut distinction between semiautomatic firearms designed for war and those used by hunters and other sportsmen.

On an initial roll call shortly after noon, the bill fell two votes short of passage. But Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) kept the proposal alive by recessing the lower chamber until evening, when two tardy supporters of the bill--Steve Clute (D-Riverside) and Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles)--arrived and voted aye.

The afternoon recess also enabled some of the lawmakers to take part in the annual press-Legislature golf tournament.

When Waters cast the deciding vote, there was a scattering of applause from legislators and spectators in the gallery, but then two unidentified young men in the balcony stood up, gave a Nazi-style salute, shouted, “Boo! Sieg Heil!” and departed.

The Assembly action occurred three months to the day after Patrick Purdy, a deranged welder with a history of minor crimes and drug abuse, attacked elementary school students in Stockton with a Chinese-made AK-47 assault rifle. He killed five children, and wounded 29 of their schoolmates and a teacher before shooting himself dead.

The slayings ignited a statewide demand for a ban on such military-style semiautomatic combat weapons, a development that pitted the NRA against top elected and appointed law enforcement officials, who strongly favor a ban.

The Senate, meanwhile, postponed on Monday a scheduled vote on a nearly identical Assembly version of the bill. The vote is now expected to occur Thursday.

The two bills, by Senate leader David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) and Assemblyman Mike Roos (D-Los Angeles), would outlaw in California the manufacture and sale of about 60 such rifles, pistols and shotguns.

The proposals also would require current owners of such firearms to register them. Anyone possessing an unregistered assault weapon would face up to three years in prison. The bill also would impose stiff sentences on those who use them in crimes.

During debate, Roos expressed disbelief that guns had become so “pervasive” in California that a 10-foot-tall wall of concrete is being built at a junior high school in Long Beach to protect students and teachers from periodic gunplay nearby.

“There is no useful purpose for the weapons to be around,” Roos declared, noting that the Bush Administration last month suspended for 90 days the importation of assault weapons while it determines whether such guns have any legitimate sporting use.

“The Bush Administration at least has the spine to stand up and say no, no, no,” Roos told Republicans and Democrats who oppose the bill. “I’ll wager you are never going to see that ban lifted and all of you know it.”

The debate, however, lacked the passion that swept the chamber during an earlier floor fight. Some members said the emotional tug of war over the issue during the last few weeks had exhausted them.

But Assemblyman Tom McClintock of Thousand Oaks, chief Republican opponent of the bill, insisted once again that the Legislature now is trying to control guns after having failed at dealing severely enough with individuals such as Purdy and mass murder suspect Ramon Salcido.

McClintock, noting that news accounts reported that Sonoma County winery worker Salcido was a cocaine user and had been arrested for drunk driving and hit-and-run driving, said, “The problem is a Legislature that lacks the commitment to put these people behind bars.”

It is unclear whether the Roos bill or the Roberti measure would go to Deukmejian, if they both are passed. Their mainly technical differences could be resolved in a Senate-Assembly conference committee, which would present a single bill.

“We’ve got to sit down and figure out what to do next,” Roberti said at a press conference after the Assembly vote.

Asked if there were any “shortcuts” that would get the bill to the governor’s desk quickly, Roberti replied, “The bill is not one that lends itself to shortcuts.”

Asked if the bill would go to a conference committee, he said, “It very well could.”

However, going to conference is considered risky for several reasons. For one thing, the legislation could go down to defeat if efforts were made to strengthen the versions approved by the more conservative Assembly. For another, the extra stop could give opponents more time to lobby their cause.

Here is the vote by which the Assembly passed and returned to the Senate the assault weapons ban bill by Roberti:

Democrats for (39): Areias, Bane, Bates, Bronzan, W. Brown, Burton, Calderon, Campbell, Chacon, Clute, Connelly, Cortese, Costa, Eastin, Eaves, Farr, Friedman, Hannigan, Harris, Hayden, Hughes, Isenberg, Johnston, Katz, Killea, Klehs, Lempert, Margolin, Moore, O’Connell, Polanco, Roos, Roybal-Allard, Sher, Speier, Tanner, Tucker, Vasconcellos, M. Waters.

Democrats against (6): Condit, Epple, Hauser, Murray, Peace, N. Waters.

Republicans for (2): Filante, Quackenbush.

Republicans against (28): Allen, Bader, Baker, Bentley, D. Brown, Chandler, Felando, Ferguson, Frazee, Frizzelle, Hansen, Harvey, Hill, Johnson, Kelley, Lancaster, Leslie, Lewis, McClintock, Mojonnier, Mountjoy, Nolan, Pringle, Seastrand, Statham, Woodruff, Wright, Wyman.

Absent or not voting (5): Bradley (R-San Marcos), Elder (D-San Pedro), Floyd (D-Carson), Jones (R-Fresno), LaFollette (R-Northridge).