Panel OKs Bill Barring Police From Selling Confiscated Guns

A state Senate committee on Tuesday took aim at reducing the number of guns on California streets, approving legislation by Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) that would prohibit police from selling confiscated weapons.

The intent of the measure is to prevent a widespread practice by the state’s 353 police departments of auctioning off the guns as a way to raise funds for cash-starved municipal treasuries.

“Guns for cash doesn’t really pencil out,” declared Hayden, whose district includes a large stretch of the San Fernando Valley from Universal City to Westlake Village.

The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the measure by a 6-1 margin and sent it to the Appropriations Committee. Sen. Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) was the lone dissenter. Earlier in the day, a similar measure by Assemblyman Mike Gotch (D-San Diego) was approved by an Assembly committee.

The Hayden proposal would require that confiscated guns be destroyed, except for stolen weapons that must be returned to owners, those donated to a museum, sold to the military or retired officers, or retained by the department.

Among those supporting the measure are the Los Angeles Police Protective League and the Oakland Police Department.

While the exact number of law enforcement agencies that recycle seized guns in this way is unknown, these weapons “with dismaying frequency reappear in the subsequent commission of a crime,” especially cheap handguns, according to an analysis of the bill by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

But the Hayden proposal is opposed by the California Rifle and Pistol Assn., whose lobbyist, Gerald Upholt, told the committee that it would have no impact on lowering the crime rate or on the availability of guns.

A spokesman for the National Rifle Assn. also argued against the measure, saying that the guns are being sold to legitimate purchasers who are given thorough background checks.

Opponents also contend that it is illogical to destroy a valuable gun and deny a potential owner its use “solely because of a prior misuse” by a criminal, according to the committee analysis.

The sales of guns by police agencies first came to light last year when The Times reported the growing practice. For example, last year the city of Santa Ana raised about $50,000 by auctioning 832 weapons, ranging from cheap handguns to top-of-the-line semiautomatic pistols.

In January, the Inglewood City Council, faced with complaints, rescinded an earlier decision to allow its police to raise cash by selling confiscated weapons.

Police had estimated that the city could sell 600 firearms annually, bringing in $50,000 a year.

The city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department have established policies against the sale of confiscated guns.