Sale of Saturday Night Specials Banned
West Covina has become the first city in the San Gabriel Valley to ban Saturday night specials, and several other municipalities are waiting to follow suit after a coalition of local governments pledged to outlaw the small, cheaply made handguns.
In October, the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, which represents 30 cities, voted to enact bans on Saturday night specials similar to those in Los Angeles and West Hollywood. All 15 representatives at the meeting voted for the proposal.
Last Tuesday, West Covina’s City Council passed a ban modeled after the West Hollywood ordinance by a 3-2 vote. City councils in Sierra Madre, Pasadena and Monterey Park have similar bans on their agendas, and other cities say they are studying whether to introduce their own legislation.
West Covina City Councilwoman Nancy Manners said there is only one gun store in her city but that one-quarter of the guns confiscated by West Covina police are Saturday night specials.
“It’s just another weapon in the fight against weapons,” she said of the ban.
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