L.A. Should Ban Clips of Ammo, Hayden Says

Displaying multiple-round ammunition magazines that his aides purchased locally, state Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles) on Saturday promised that if elected April 8, his first mayoral move would be to propose an ordinance banning the sale of ammunition magazines.

“It’s not the gun, it’s the ability of the gun to fire rapid rounds in a matter of seconds,” Hayden said at a morning news conference on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall.

“Once again, I call on Mayor Riordan to suggest a ban on these ammunition clips, which are the primary way that homicidal maniacs pin down the police.”

Hayden showed off a Chinese SKS-47--which is similar to the AK-47s used by the bank robbers in last month’s North Hollywood shootout and can easily be converted to automatic fire--along with a box of 200 hollow-point bullets and magazines that hold 40 and 120 rounds.

The rifle was borrowed, while the magazines were bought by Hayden’s press secretary last week at Liberty Firearms in Van Nuys for $14 and $125. Another staffer bought the $10 box of bullets at a gun show.

“I just walked in. There were no questions about what my purpose would be, no regulations, no check of my criminal past,” said Rocky Rushing, who bought the ammunition magazines. “It was simple. It was just a matter of me taking out my checkbook.”

Manufacture of the magazines was outlawed by the 1994 federal crime bill, but gun stores are still allowed to sell what they have in stock, said Luis Tolley of Handgun Control, who joined Hayden at the news conference.

Hayden said he is backing legislation to prohibit the sale of the magazines statewide, but that if he were mayor he would immediately ask the City Council to ban their sale locally.

In the middle of the news conference, Hayden handed the microphone to Riordan’s press secretary, Todd Harris--who frequently attends the senator’s campaign events--and asked what the mayor’s stance on the magazines is.

“The mayor is light years ahead of you,” Harris said.

“The mayor feels that strong gun control laws are best passed at the state and federal levels,” he added. “What good does it do if you ban the sale of these in Los Angeles if you can drive over to Culver City and get them?”

Hayden said it is a question of leadership.

“If the mayor would support it, then the mayor of Culver City would support it,” he said. “The mayor of city after city would support it, and then we would solve the problem.”

That put Harris on the attack, accusing the senator of missing votes on four gun bills. “Tom, where were you?” he demanded.

Records show that Hayden did miss two votes in the 1993-94 legislative session on a bill toughening penalties for gang members caught illegally possessing guns, and two votes on a 1989 bill prohibiting the possession of firearms by felons.

But on the other two bills Harris cited--one establishing minimum sentences for gang members caught with illegal weapons and one increasing penalties for selling guns to minors--Hayden cast votes in favor at one point and missed the balloting at another.

Harris’ accusations incensed the Hayden supporters standing by the senator’s side.

“Where’s the mayor now?” demanded Luis Acosta, a city sanitation worker who is volunteering for the Hayden campaign. “Where’s the mayor?” echoed the others in a spontaneous chant. “Where’s the mayor?”