And Now It’s the Senate’s Turn

Next Thursday, the Judiciary Committee of the state Senate will have the opportunity to demonstrate whether its regard for the public’s safety outweighs its fear of the gun lobby’s vindictive bully boys. On that day, the committee will consider 14 firearms regulation bills already passed by the Assembly.

If the senators can summon up the courage this occasion demands--and which the other chamber already has displayed--California will take another step toward enacting the United States’ first comprehensive system of rational firearms regulation. As such, it would constitute a national example of how a legislative body can, in fact, strike an appropriate balance between the public’s right to walk its streets in safety and the legitimate interests of real sportsmen.

Most of the bills to be heard simply would increase the penalties for various existing firearms offenses. Like other such measures, they have a certain cathartic value and make showy citations in their sponsors’ campaign literature. There is, however, little evidence to show they are of much practical benefit. Four of the proposals, on the other hand, are desperately needed, and deserve quick and decisive approval.

For example, AB 497, which was introduced by Democrat Lloyd G. Connelly of Sacramento, would extend the 15-day wait between the purchase of a handgun and its delivery to all sales of all firearms. That two-week period would allow the Department of Justice to ensure that the prospective buyer is not a person prohibited from owning a gun under the bill. These would include individuals found mentally infirm under law, convicted felons, those found guilty of certain violent misdemeanors within the previous 10 years and persons prohibited from possessing a weapon as a condition of probation. AB 497 is supported by every major law enforcement agency in the state, and Gov. George Deukmejian has indicated he will sign it. The Judiciary Committee should help give him the opportunity to do so.

It also should do its part to send him AB 1680, written by Democrat Rusty Areias of Los Banos. He proposes that anyone purchasing a concealable weapon be required to complete a simple 2-hour course in basic firearms safety. In a little more than a decade, the number of California households possessing a handgun has doubled to 2.5 million. Given this explosive growth, the need to enact Areias’ common sense measure is clear.

Similarly, the dictates of simple reason demand passage of two bills by Democrat Johan Klehs of Castro Valley. His measures are vital complements to the ban on military-style assault weapons enacted earlier this year. One would prohibit the sale of detachable magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds. The other would proscribe so-called multiburst trigger activators and military-style shotguns with rotary or detachable magazines capable of holding more than five shells.

No serious sportsman has any use for such guns; thugs, lunatics, murderers of schoolchildren and killers of police officers can’t do without them. The issue is joined. The Senate need only declare whose side it’s on.