Feuer to Seek Gun Law Exemption for Film, TV

Despite losing Monday in its court bid to block enforcement of Los Angeles’ new gun ordinance, the entertainment industry has won on another front: City Councilman Mike Feuer said he will seek an exemption to the ordinance for filmmakers and others who use firearms as props.

Feuer, who sponsored the gun ordinance, said it was aimed at making it harder for criminals to obtain weapons with high-capacity magazines--not at filmmakers who use them as props in so-called action movies.

“This had to do with public safety,” said Feuer, who plans to introduce amendments to the ordinance at today’s City Council meeting.

Among other things, the ordinance, approved by the City Council last month, prohibits the sale or transfer of magazines and clips capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

But attorney Chuck Michel, representing a coalition of UCLA professors, gun dealers and entertainment industry firms, sued the city, saying the ordinance is hostile to gun owners as well as filmmakers.

Superior Court Judge Robert O’Brien denied a request for a temporary restraining order Monday and set a Dec. 9 court date to consider Michel’s request for a preliminary injunction.

Until then, however, Michel said, “It is almost impossible for an action film to be made in the city of Los Angeles.”

He said the city could lose millions of dollars if filmmakers leave the city for other locations.

“Basically, they’re going to have to dodge the law and hope the city will amend it,” Michel said. “This makes it very difficult--if not impossible--to do business in the city of Los Angeles.”

But Feuer said restricting the entertainment industry from conducting its business was never his intent.

He said firearms used in films, television, video and theater are not a threat to public safety because they fire blank rounds and because prop masters are responsible for them.

Feuer said he will ask his council colleagues today to amend the ordinance to exempt those members of the entertainment industry who use firearms as props. He also will seek an exemption for historical societies, museums or institutional collections that are open to the public, provided any such clip or magazine is unloaded, properly stored and secured from unauthorized handling.

Chief Deputy City Atty. Tim McOsker said he believes the existing gun ordinance will pass its legal challenges, saying it is “an area the city can [legally] regulate.”