ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : The City’s Not for Shooting
Laguna Niguel’s City Council should hang tough tonight and give final approval to a ban on discharging BB guns. The ban is especially appropriate in that city, where homes tend to be close together.
The ordinance was given preliminary approval in the wake of a BB-gun accident in April in which a 6-year-old boy suffered permanent eye damage. Also, in June, a 12-year-old boy was hit between the eyes by a pellet.
Actually, the ordinance would restore to Laguna Niguel a ban that was in place before January, 1991. At that time, state legislation removed BB guns from a California law making the discharge of any firearm--including BB guns--illegal within a city’s limits.
When the National Rifle Assn. got wind of Laguna Niguel’s plan to reinstate the ban, it urged local members to attend tonight’s meeting. The NRA objects to almost all restrictions on firearms, contending that they violate the U.S. Constitution. However, Laguna Niguel Councilman James F. Krembas was right when he said of the proposed BB-gun ordinance: “There’s a difference between bearing arms and discharging them in an urban setting.”
The ordinance would allow BB guns--sometimes called air rifles--to be fired at designated commercial shooting ranges, including a new indoor range currently being built. It is similar to ordinances in 25 other cities in Orange County.
The city is justified in trying to reduce injuries by banning the discharge of BB guns.
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