Davis Backs Bill to Limit Assault Gun Sale and Use

Lamenting last week’s tragic Columbine High School massacre, Gov. Gray Davis on Monday led a demonstration on the deadly similarities of banned assault weapons and those manufactured legally, such as a semiautomatic handgun used in the Colorado attack on classmates.

Announcing his support of proposed legislation designed to further restrict the sale and use of such weapons (SB 23), Davis said he intends to create “the toughest assault weapon ban in the nation.”

While state legislation passed in 1989 bans specific models of military-style semiautomatic weapons, manufacturers have continued to make copycat weapons with only slight variations in designs and with altered names, Davis said.

Under a measure sponsored by Sen. Don Perata (D-Alameda), banned weapons would be given a generic definition based on characteristics and firepower, rather than just names. The measure also would ban the manufacture and sale of large-capacity ammunition magazines.

The measure has support of anti-gun groups and Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer. Davis again on Monday pledged to sign legislation banning assault weapons, a promise repeated during his gubernatorial campaign. Former Gov. Pete Wilson vetoed a similar measure last year.

Opponents of Perata’s bill argue that thousands of such weapons and millions of magazines have been sold legally for years, making enforcement of such a measure impractical. They also say descriptions are so broad that many guns used for hunting and other sports would become illegal.

Under the measure, owners would be required to go through a background check with the state, register the weapons and convert magazines to hold a maximum of only 10 rounds. Perata, who appeared at the demonstration Monday with Davis, said his measure “shuts every loophole in existing law.”

Military-style rifles and handguns and their copycat offshoots were fired by Los Angeles police officers during the media demonstration at the newly opened Ed Davis Training Center in Granada Hills.

The walls of an indoor shooting range reverberated as 30 rounds were fired in rapid succession from a high-powered rifle. Moments later, a TEC-DC/9 assault pistol, identical to that used by the Colorado youths, jammed twice before an officer could demonstrate its precision accuracy.

“I am determined that these weapons will become illegal on my watch,” said the governor, who defended the effectiveness of assault power for the military. “There is no justification whatsoever for them on the streets of a civilized society,” he added.

The measure is scheduled to be heard in Senate Appropriations on May 17.