Gallegly to Again Back Brady Bill : Gun control: Going against his party’s mainstream, the Simi Valley Republican plans to vote for legislation requiring a waiting period before purchase.

Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), who describes himself as an advocate of gun owners’ rights, plans to break ranks for a second time to vote for a hotly debated bill that would require a seven-day waiting period for handgun purchasers.

With support for the bill gaining--former President Ronald Reagan recently endorsed it--this time Gallegly’s vote may be critical. The tally is expected to be close.

For Gallegly, the so-called Brady bill represents a conflict between his desire to support a key constituency--law enforcement--and his philosophical opposition to expanded federal government authority.

Numerous law-enforcement agencies, citing the proliferation of sophisticated weapons in criminal hands, back the waiting period. Many police and FBI agents reside in Gallegly’s 21st District--which includes eastern Ventura County and parts of the western and northern San Fernando Valley--where crime is a major concern. Gallegly has repeatedly touted his backing for law enforcement in newsletters and campaign materials.

Most hunters, as well as the National Rifle Assn., are strongly against the bill. The opposition includes a well-organized gun-owners lobby in the heart of Gallegly’s conservative, suburban district.

“To oppose this would be to oppose law enforcement,” Gallegly said. “No matter which way you go, you’re going to be opposing folks that, in most cases, you agree with.”

The bill is named for James A. Brady, Reagan’s press secretary who was severely wounded in an assassination attempt on the President in 1981. The measure would give police the option of checking a potential gun buyer’s background for past criminal conduct or a history of mental instability.

The bill was defeated in the House by a 228-182 margin in 1988; Gallegly, then a freshman, was one of 45 Republicans who voted in its favor. It was opposed by 127 Republicans.

His decision raised some eyebrows. The conservative congressman had received a total of $4,950 in campaign contributions from the NRA’s political action committee by June, 1988. He has subsequently heard from many constituents critical of his gun-control position.

“Criminals and their use of firearms is becoming more and more of a problem, the gang killings and so on,” Gallegly said, explaining his backing for the Brady bill. “There’s no question that this is not going to solve all of the gun crimes. It may not even solve a large percentage of them. But I’m convinced it will stop some, and I think it’s not going to infringe on the law-abiding citizens who have to wait a day or two longer to get a gun.”

The NRA characterizes Gallegly as a moderate on gun issues. He voted with the gun lobby to defeat a 1990 amendment that would have banned domestically manufactured semiautomatic weapons.

“He paints himself as being more pro-gun than anti-gun,” said Fred Romero, the NRA’s Southern California field representative and a Simi Valley resident. “He’s open to discussion.”

Nevertheless, after the initial Brady bill vote, the NRA slashed its campaign contributions; Gallegly received only $1,300 from the powerful lobby in 1989 and 1990. But he also received an unexpected compensation--contributions totaling $900 from Handgun Control Inc.’s PAC.

“Most of the gun-control people just ignored me traditionally because of my strong position on Second Amendment rights,” Gallegly said. “I wasn’t lobbied at all by the handgun-control people. No one’s ever come into my office prior to that vote.”

The Simi Valley Freedom Foundation, a politically active gun-owners rights group that supported Gallegly in 1988 and again last year, remains hopeful that it can persuade the former Simi Valley mayor to oppose the bill. It has urged its 1,242 members to call and write Gallegly, according to Chairman David Ross. “We feel Elton might take another look at it,” said Ross.

But Gallegly says his support for the waiting period is unwavering.

“I’m right on this issue,” he said. “A lot of folks called me that have been life members of the National Rifle Assn. to say that just because they are life members” doesn’t mean that they oppose the Brady bill.

The NRA has gone on the offensive against the Brady bill with a television advertising campaign touting its alternative proposal for instant background checks. Gallegly says he too would favor such an approach but computer systems are not yet in place to make it effective. In California, where a 15-day waiting period already is law, the Brady bill would not affect those buying firearms.

Reagan’s support is expected to provide political cover for some lawmakers who are inclined to back the bill. And, after Reagan’s about-face, President Bush indicated he might drop his adamant opposition to the measure if it reaches his desk as part of an anti-crime package he’s seeking.

As a possible House vote looms in the near future, prospects remain uncertain. Democrats representing rural areas, especially in the South--where hunting is pervasive and crime is less of a threat--have previously joined the majority of Republicans in opposition.