LOS ANGELES : Council Committee OKs Crackdown on Gun Dealers
A proposal to tighten restrictions on firearms dealers--keeping them out of residential areas and forcing them to operate from fixed addresses--was approved Monday by a Los Angeles City Council committee.
The ordinance would attempt to crack down on dealers who are licensed by the federal government but who often sell guns out of car trunks and other makeshift locations without control by local authorities.
The council’s Public Safety Committee gave preliminary approval to an ordinance that would force the dealers to do business at fixed locations outside residential zones and to obtain insurance and city and state business tax permits.
More than 1,000 federal firearms licensees are registered in the city of Los Angeles, but only a small fraction operate at standard storefront locations.
The committee also asked the city staff to report back within three months on several other gun control proposals, including plans for restricting sales of ammunition.
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