Parks Expands Call for Gun Control Laws

Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard C. Parks on Wednesday advocated a host of sweeping gun control measures and denounced special interest groups, such as the National Rifle Assn., as organizations that promote “gun violence in the United States.”

Continuing his campaign for stricter gun laws that began in the wake of the shootings at the North Valley Jewish Community Center, Parks said the NRA and similar groups are “peddling something that is far more dangerous than other special interest groups and hiding behind a constitutional issue that I don’t think exists.”

At his monthly news conference, Parks reiterated his support for new laws calling for the collection, destruction and prohibition of all existing assault weapons and Saturday night special handguns.

“You have to take that step. I don’t think we can continue to play with the issue,” Parks said. “They have no use other than to kill people, whether you own them now or intend to purchase them in the future.”

Parks’ spokesman said later in the day that the chief would defer to legislators on whether gun owners would get compensated for any seized weapons.

The chief’s high-profile stance, which has been joined by Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti, has drawn criticism from gun enthusiasts.

Actor Charlton Heston, president of the NRA, said in a telephone interview that he believes Parks “is clearly one of the finest police chiefs in L.A. history” but that Parks’ “comments about the NRA were inappropriate.”

“He’s surely entitled to his opinions on assault weapons and handguns, though he is inadequately informed on their place in the Bill of Rights,” Heston said. “Like all of us, he makes mistakes.”

Heston said that there are about 2,200 gun control laws on the books throughout the country but that they are almost never enforced.

Among other proposals Parks said he supported Wednesday were: mandatory registration of all gun purchases, educational and training courses for buyers of new guns, mandatory gun safety devices, ballistic testing of guns before they are sold, annual gun store inspections and continued research on so-called smart guns, which can only be fired by the weapon’s legal owner.

There are more than a dozen state and federal bills on gun control issues currently pending that Parks said he supports. He said he welcomes federal legislation, but believes states and local jurisdictions should also have authority to enact their own laws.

In fact, Los Angeles, led largely by the efforts of Councilman Mike Feuer, has passed a number of gun control measures in recent years. On Wednesday, as Parks announced his ideas on the issue, the City Council moved forward on two fronts.

Feuer introduced legislation that if passed would require all handguns sold in the city to have safety devices installed to prevent accidental discharges and the unauthorized use of guns. Such safety measures would include mechanical locks, indicators showing if there are bullets in the firing chamber and high-tech passive mechanisms that automatically unlock guns for the rightful owner.

Councilman Mike Hernandez introduced a motion calling for a ban on ammunition sales within the city. “We ban fireworks, but we don’t ban bullets. It makes no sense at all,” he said.

The councilman said the bill was the idea of Niko and Theo Milonopoulos, two 12-year-old brothers from Studio City who decided to work against gun violence after the North Hollywood bank shootout in 1997 and the murder of Ennis Cosby. The two boys have collected 7,000 signatures from children across the city urging an ammunition ban.

“With the shootings that happened last week, and the fact it happened to kids in Los Angeles, that made us even more determined than ever to help put an end to this violence,” Theo said after the council session.

An LAPD spokesman said Parks supports Feuer’s proposal in concept but has not yet reviewed Hernandez’s motion.

Although Parks supports very restrictive gun laws, he does not oppose people owning guns for hunting or home protection. But, he added, assault weapons do not fall into either category.

The chief said he is not persuaded by the argument from gun enthusiasts that only criminals would have access to assault weapons if they were banned completely.

“We have to start somewhere,” said Parks, who as chief has issued very few concealed weapons permits in the city. “If this generation is not benefited by this, certainly generations in the future will be.”

As it is, he said, there are far too many guns on the streets. He said each year the LAPD collects about 9,000 firearms that have been used in crimes.

The recent shooting at the Jewish community center and the slaying of a mail carrier are only additional proof that there is more firepower in circulation than there should be, he said.

Buford O. Furrow Jr., the white supremacist who allegedly committed last week’s bloody assault, had five assault weapons and two handguns with him. He had more ammunition with him than the two bank robbers did during the North Hollywood shootout, Parks said.

The NRA and others can “come with all the rhetoric they want,” Parks said. “But the issue is: They cannot avoid the statistics with regard to the death and the mayhem.”

Times staff writer Kurt Streeter contributed to this report.