Small-Handgun Ban Would Deny Protection to the Poor, Some Say

Ventura County gun enthusiasts said they won’t be affected by the proposed ban on so-called Saturday night special handguns. They can afford bigger, more powerful and more expensive weapons.

But they still oppose the ban, arguing that it will prevent poor people from protecting themselves.

“When I was younger and in a low-income bracket, I didn’t feel any differently about the right to protect my family,” said Simi Valley resident Mike Mason, president of the National Rifle Assn. Members Council of Eastern Ventura County.

Anti-gun lobbyists are a step closer to a ban on the low-cost weapons, thanks to the state Legislature’s passage Wednesday of two bills banning the weapons. The bills would have to be merged into one law that would go to Gov. Pete Wilson, who has not indicated whether he supports a ban.

Tony Montemorra, the 71-year-old owner of Sportsmen’s Exchange & Western Guntraders gun shop in Oxnard, took the argument one step further. He said the proposed laws would purposefully target minorities.

“Not everyone can afford $700 or $1,000 for a gun. How many minorities would walk in and say, ‘I want to buy this one?’ ” said Montemorra, pointing to a $1,995 Glock .45-caliber semiautomatic.

“These bills are discriminatory. They ban one class of firearms,” he said.

The ban, if signed into law, would prohibit the sale of existing guns, either by manufacturers who have stockpiles of them or by individuals. The bills, for the most part, take aim at .22- and .25-caliber handguns, which cost about $150 or less and can be resold on the street for as little as $30 to $40.

Lawmakers lined up to show support for the measures, arguing that the guns pose a safety problem to the user because they often misfire.

But Montemorra, a gun dealer since 1947, said he has yet to see a single injury caused by one of the inexpensive guns.

“I have never seen a gun blow up in somebody’s hand,” he said.

The statistic bandied about by gun opponents is that these easily concealed weapons are used in about 70% of the crimes in which guns are involved.

Simi Valley Councilwoman Sandi Webb doesn’t believe it.

When assault weapons were banned in the late 1980s, she recalls that proponents argued AK-47s and the like were the criminals’ gun of choice.

“So which is it? The expensive gun or the cheap gun?” she asked.

The answer, Webb said, is that it doesn’t matter.

Criminals acquire guns through illegal channels. If the manufacture and sale of all guns were prohibited, thugs would simply buy them on the black market or build their own guns, she said.

Webb, who packs a gun herself and has supported legislation governing the right to carry concealed weapons, recently upgraded to a larger and more expensive gun after owning a Saturday night special that served her well for many years.

“My gun was a well-made, inexpensive gun. I probably paid $25 to $50, which was in 1975,” she said. “I could not afford a bigger, more expensive gun. It gave me that home protection I thought I needed.”

Although he supports the proposed laws, Oxnard Police Chief Harold Hurtt said he doesn’t believe the smaller guns are a significant element of crime.

“I don’t think there is much use for the Saturday night specials anymore. The criminal is going to the more sophisticated firepower,” Hurtt said.

Within the next couple of weeks, the Oxnard Police Department will begin to study just how prevalent the smaller-caliber handguns are in the city, Hurtt said. Until the study is completed, it will be difficult to say how the ban will impact the city.

But any legislation that does away with the inexpensive guns is good for residents’ safety, he added.

“We’re concerned about any caliber of gun, and I support any effort to clean up the junk guns,” he said.

A ban wouldn’t greatly alter the business practices of gun shops in Ventura County. Employees say they just don’t sell that many.

Most of the clientele at Shooters Paradise in Simi Valley choose the more expensive guns, the .45 calibers by well-known manufacturers, such as Smith & Wesson.

Salesman Tom Hammersley said he occasionally sells the cheaper guns, which go for as little as $99, almost exclusively to lower-income patrons. He noted that no one seems to be speaking on their behalf.

“[The bills] would take the ability away from poor people to protect themselves and their property,” he said.

At Paul’s Precision Gunsmithing in Simi Valley, Manager Vicki Harper will order a small gun if requested, but doesn’t keep them in stock. Her shop specializes in building custom guns for hunting and target shooting.

There are no gun-only stores in Thousand Oaks, but some businesses sell guns among other merchandise. At least one outlet, Gem’s Loan & Pawn Brokers, will halt all gun sales soon, said an employee who declined to give his name.

Montemorra, the Oxnard storekeeper, said he sells quite a few Saturday night specials. In fact, if the ban were to go into effect today, he would be stuck with about $2,000 worth of merchandise he could not sell.