Bang, Bang--Happy New Year?

New Year’s Eve is a time of celebration. At midnight, many party-goers exchange kisses, lift a glass of bubbly or give a cheer. But a few revelers celebrate in a grim and deadly tradition. They shoot their guns into the air, and some of their bullets injure or kill.

To curb the holiday barrage, Mayor Tom Bradley proposed and the City Council approved a ban on the sale of ammunition during the week preceding Jan 1. The ban applies specifically to retail gun dealers. They are not allowed under the terms of the ordinance “to sell, lend, give or transfer ownership of any firearm ammunition.” The citywide ban also prohibits the sale of bullets during the weeks before Christmas and the Fourth of July, which are also dangerous periods. A violation is a misdemeanor that carries a sentence of up to six months and a $500 fine.

The citywide prohibition is important. Several gun shops stayed opened four extra hours last New Year’s Eve to take advantage of brisk sales despite a request from the Los Angeles Police Department to suspend bullet sales. Eight people were injured last year by random gunfire.

A public service campaign on billboards throughout Los Angeles also warns in both English and Spanish of the dangers of holiday gunplay.

Ringing in the New Year with a blast from a gun is a felony. The offense--discharging a weapon in a reckless manner--carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison. But too few people get caught.

The LAPD made 73 arrests last year, confiscated more than 100 guns and logged more than 700 phone reports of gunfire. Those numbers represented a vast improvement over previous years.

To boost arrests and further discourage the random gunplay Monday night, the Los Angeles Police Department is posting special teams throughout the city. Hundreds of officers--more than twice the normal number on duty--will be assigned to sections of South-Central Los Angeles where so many law abiding citizens have been victimized by a few thoughtless celebrators. The LAPD is encouraging people to report the shootings, a strategy that paid off last year.

The stronger police presence, though welcome, cannot protect neighbors who are returning home from parties, family gatherings and church services, or the children who hear the excitement and rush outside.

In the first minutes of 1986, a 13-year-old boy was struck in the head by a random bullet. He died. At least five people have lost their lives and others have been critically wounded because of the dangerous holiday gunplay in recent years.

No one should die or get hurt because foolish revelers shoot in the air to mark the new year.