Panel to Consider Gas Valve, Gun Measures

To reduce gun violence and protect against injuries during earthquakes, the Los Angeles City Council’s Public Safety Committee on Monday will consider a package of gun-control measures and a new requirement for gas shut-off valves.

The package of gun-control measures, which has been proposed by Councilman Mike Feuer, includes requirements that gun shop owners sell trigger locks with each gun sale and take fingerprints of people who buy ammunition.

The package also includes a measure that would require police background checks on all gun shop employees and would ban the sale of magazines that can hold 10 or more rounds.

The measures have already been supported by Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard Parks and the Police Commission. Councilwoman Laura Chick, who heads the Public Safety Committee, is also expected to endorse the measures, according to her aides.

Chick’s panel will also consider a measure by Councilman Hal Bernson that would require home buyers to install valves that seal off gas flow during an earthquake.

The idea behind the measure is to cut off the gas flow during a quake to reduce the chances of a gas fire, such as the ones that followed the 1994 Northridge quake and the 1995 quake in Kobe, Japan.

Although real estate organizations protested Bernson’s measure, saying it would just add another fee to the cost of buying a house, the council voted unanimously in February to ask the city attorney’s office to draft the final version of the ordinance.

Installation of the gas valves costs about $350. The council agreed to waive an additional $47 permit fee if the valves are installed within a year after escrow closes.