Fate of Saturday Night Special Bill Hangs in Balance

Junk guns now are in the hands of Gov. Pete Wilson and he hasn’t decided which way to aim. Should he sign or veto the hottest gun control bill to pass the 1997 Legislature?

No bill created more sparks in legislative debate than SB 500, by Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles), which would ban the manufacture and sale of so-called Saturday night specials. These are the poorly made, unsafe, cheap, easily concealed handguns used especially by young gangbangers.

Southern California produces 80% of the nation’s junk gun arsenal. This bill simply would require American-made weapons to meet the same safety and size standards that have been imposed on foreign imports for three decades.

But the NRA and other pro-gun lobbies argue that the bill--as one Wilson advisor summarizes it--”suffers from a lack of good marksmanship.” They object, for example, to its ban of some quality snub-nosed revolvers.

Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren opposes the bill, contending its gun certification process would have a “significant negative fiscal impact” on his department and, besides, the import safety standards are “obsolete.”

Says the Wilson advisor, asking not to be named: “We have significant concerns. These kinds of bills not only are difficult, they’re convoluted. They’re politically sensitive and they’re polarized.

“They’re either the greatest things since sliced bread or they’re going to bring an end to civilization. We’re still being inundated with information--and possibly misinformation from each side.”

*

Wilson has followed a centrist path on gun control. “The gun lobby hates him,” says spokesman Sean Walsh. “With that crowd, you’ve got to be a purist.”

As a U.S. senator, Wilson voted to ban assault weapons and sponsored legislation to outlaw “cop killer” bullets. As governor, he has signed bills to require safety training for handgun buyers, to provide a no-handgun “safety zone” 1,000 feet around schools and to forbid police chiefs from issuing concealable weapon permits to people who live outside their cities.

But the governor has vetoed bills to stop sheriffs from auctioning off confiscated weapons and, recently, to require gun dealers to sell trigger locks with firearms. The trigger lock mandate was too “intrusive,” he wrote.

Wilson soon will sign a bill supported by virtually everyone outside the far left. Called 10-20-Life, AB 4 by Assemblyman Tom Bordonaro Jr. (R-Paso Robles) will substantially increase penalties when guns are used in certain crimes, such as murder, robbery and rape. It’ll cost an extra 10 years to draw a gun, 20 to fire it and 25-plus to hit the victim.

Another bill the governor could sign, unless he perceives some hidden flaw, would require new state residents to register their handguns and undergo a background check, the same as California gun buyers must. It’s AB 991 by Assemblyman Kevin Shelley (D-San Francisco).

There’ll be a legislative shootout early next year over a bill to tighten the ban on assault weapons. AB 23 narrowly passed both houses, but now is two votes short of Assembly concurrence in Senate amendments. Says the author, Assemblyman Don Perata (D-Alameda): “If Republicans kill it, that gives Democrats a great election-year issue. I don’t think they will.”

*

Wilson’s grandfather was a Chicago policeman--Patrolman Michael D. Callahan--who was shot to death by a drug dealer when Wilson’s mother was a child. So instinctively, this governor is no gun worshiper. He’s very pro-law enforcement--and the junk gun bill is supported by law groups, including the California Police Chiefs Assn.

Yet, Wilson’s a conservative who tends to resist government meddling in the lives of law-abiding citizens. Any meddling better be for a very important purpose and look like a sure-fire cinch to hit its mark. Wilson will be asking himself: If junk guns are banned, will that really reduce crime?

It seems a no-brainer to me. The fewer guns, the less gun violence. Handguns are used in two-thirds of California’s homicides, according to the state Justice Department. Saturday night specials are favored by teen thugs and also are popular among adult criminals, reports the federal government.

But for Wilson, AB 500 “is still too close to call,” says spokesman Walsh.

However the governor handles junk guns, his explanation will be rational. His veto messages often signal how another bill might be crafted to win his signature.

He won’t be fretting about some Nazi-like foreign invader confiscating all our private guns and seizing power--or whether Americans will have enough weapons to rebel against their government if the need again arises. Yes, we actually do have Republican legislators who believe that stuff.