LAGUNA NIGUEL : Council Restores Ban on Firing BB Guns

Despite a strong last-minute opposition drive, a City Council majority stuck to their guns Tuesday and voted 3-2 to restore a ban on the discharge of BB guns within the city.

The final vote--the same as one cast earlier this month during a preliminary consideration of the ban--came after a two-hour public hearing that included more than 30 speakers, many of them members of the National Rifle Assn. and Gun Owners of California.

The 75-seat City Council chambers was packed to standing-room only, with some members of the audience having traveled from as far as Fontana and Redondo Beach to speak against the ban.

“We have watched our fundamental rights be eroded one after another,” said Brian Bridges of Laguna Niguel. “Somebody misusing a BB gun is already covered by (city) statute. Do you want to put law-abiding citizens in their own home in jail? Leave them alone.”

Under the ordinance, which will go into effect in 30 days, residents will be allowed to fire BB guns at designated commercial shooting ranges, including the new indoor range, On Target, being built on Camino Capistrano in Laguna Niguel. However, On Target owner Chris Endersby has said he will only allow BB gun owners to fire lead pellets because the range is not designed to contain the ricochet from steel pellets.

Opponents of the ordinance, many of whom argued that it will prevent responsible parents from teaching gun safety in the privacy of their own homes, were heard mumbling “Remember November” after the vote was taken. Three Laguna Niguel council members, including two who supported the ban, are up for reelection in November.

“Laguna Niguel has become a less free place,” said resident Robert Burke, a National Rifle Assn. member who led the opposition to the ban. “The safety fascists won.”

Until January, 1991, it was illegal to discharge any firearm, including BB guns, within the city, officials said. But a change in state law removed BB guns from the “firearms” category, which nullified the local ban on discharging BB guns. Twenty-five other Orange County cities had similar bans that were also rendered void.

Laguna Niguel officials proposed restoring the ban in April when a 5-year-old boy was accidentally shot in the eye with a metal pellet and permanently injured.

“I have already lost,” said resident Chris Sakrekoff, whose son was injured in the April 9 back-yard accident. “Maybe another family will win.”

Supporters of the ordinance argue that Laguna Niguel, which has a population of 50,000 and many houses packed tightly together, is not the appropriate place for firing BB guns.

“It is a public safety issue,” Councilman James F. Krembas said. “I think that is what brought us where we are.”

Council members Paul M. Christiansen and Patricia C. Bates voted against the ordinance, saying it does not respect privacy, property and parental rights. Christiansen said there should have been a provision in the ordinance allowing residents to set up secure BB gun firing ranges within their homes or garages.

Violation of the new ordinance is a misdemeanor. Violators could face a maximum sentence of one year in county jail, a $1,000 fine, or both.