Assault Gun Ban Is Sent to Governor : Compromise Measure Would Make Calif. 1st to Forbid Such Arms

The Legislature today passed and sent to Gov. George Deukmejian a final compromise bill that would make California the first state in the nation to ban military-style assault weapons.

If, as expected, Deukmejian signs the compromise legislation by Assemblyman Mike Roos (D-Los Angeles), the sale of about 60 models of assault firearms will be illegal after June 1. He has 12 days to act.

Both houses today approved the measure, which included provisions sought by the governor.

The governor had complained that another assault weapons bill, sponsored by Sen. David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) and approved earlier by the Legislature, provided excessive penalties for people who fail to register assault weapons legally obtained before the ban takes effect.

“This (the Roos bill) recognizes the governor’s concerns that an otherwise law-abiding citizen could face felony penalties” for possession of an assault weapon, Roberti said.

The Senate vote on the Roos follow-up bill was 27 to 11. The Assembly approved the changes on a 41-35 tally--the exact majority needed in the 80-member house.

The action came almost four months to the day that drifter Patrick Purdy used an AK-47 assault rifle to kill five children and wound 30 other people at a Stockton schoolyard Jan. 17.

Critics of the legislation charged that it was an overreaction to such highly publicized incidents.

Sen. Ed Davis (D-Northridge), a former Los Angeles chief of police, denounced the measure as “twisting the Constitution out of shape.”

“This is a sad day for liberty in America,” Davis said. “This is the result of emotion and panic thinking (but) it is not going to work.”

The legislation would, with a couple of exceptions, ban the sale of more than 60 models of weapons, including the type of AK-47 used by Purdy.

People who legally obtain assault weapons before June 1 of this year could keep them but would have to register the firearms with the state.

It would take a special permit, such as those required for machine guns, to legally keep an assault weapon obtained after the cutoff date.