Foolishness in the Recall Arena : Roberti’s anti-gun stands set off a vengeful response from firearms group

Recall votes are a fundamental right in a democracy, but the process can be abused. A case in point is the ill-conceived, vengeful, even ridiculous effort to recall Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Van Nuys). The timing itself defies logic: Because of term limits, the recall election would occur with less than eight months left in Roberti’s term.

Roberti has not broken the law or violated the public’s trust. Neither has he lapsed into some debilitated condition that leaves him unfit for office. Simply put, he is a target because he has displayed political courage in the firearms issue. In 1989 he co-sponsored a ban on military-style semiautomatic assault weapons, and now he is pressing an effort to limit the number of bullets in rifle and pistol magazines.

The Constitutional Rights Federation, a gun owners group based in Mission Hills in the San Fernando Valley, is spearheading the signature- gathering campaign to put a Roberti recall proposal to the voters in the spring. The chief sponsor admits that gun owners form the bulk of the effort. Federation chairman Manuel Fernandez said it plainly: “The whole purpose of the recall of Roberti is retribution for the passage of the semiautomatic rifle ban.”

Roberti is on the right side in this issue; regardless, any recall effort based on a single issue is a bad idea.

Roberti also has many other achievements in public life. For example, he has worked with local officials to minimize state cutbacks in programs benefiting the city and county of Los Angeles, and he has pushed for a hearing on safety issues related to the proposed low-level radioactive waste dump in Ward Valley.

Roberti has been on the wrong side of the fence, too, such as when he called for the breakup of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Also, he publicly rejected a pay hike during a 1992 election campaign, only to ask for the money when it was too late to affect the outcome of the race.

Whatever Roberti’s flaws, a recall is not merited by any stretch of the imagination. If this attempt reaches the ballot, voters should soundly reject it.