Davis Signs 3 Gun-Control Bills

Less than a month after gunfire erupted in a San Fernando Valley Jewish day-care center, making Los Angeles the most recent ground zero in the national battle with gun violence, Gov. Gray Davis signed a trio of bills Friday that he said help comprise “the toughest gun control package of legislation in America.”

Flanked by police, emergency room workers and parents who have lost their children to guns, Davis signed bills that, effective Jan. 1, will ban the production of potentially unsafe handguns, require the sale of trigger locks with all guns and place tighter controls on gun shows.

“This weapon right here--or weapons like it--are the biggest killer of children in California,” Davis said, waving a so-called Saturday night special.

“These are junk guns, and when I sign this bill they will go to the junkyard,” Davis said. His comments drew loud applause from more than 100 people at a bill-signing ceremony outside Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, which treated some of the victims of the day-care center shootings, allegedly by white supremacist Buford Furrow.

The bill, written by state Sen. Richard Polanco, D-Los Angeles, will ban the production of weapons that cannot pass firing tests and “drop tests” in which the guns must be able to withstand being dropped several times without discharging.

Charles Blek, holding a framed photo of his handsome 21-year-old son, said he had been waiting for this day since shortly after his son was gunned down in 1994 in New York City by a 15-year-old with a Saturday night special.

“This is bittersweet. It will save other people,” Blek said, wiping sweat from his brow as temperature soared into triple digits. “Folks talk about closure and healing, but that just doesn’t happen. This was a life sentence for our family, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

A second bill signed by the governor was written by Assembly members Jack Scott (D-Altadena), Dion Aroner (D-Berkeley) and Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles). The bill requires that trigger locks be provided with all firearms sold in California. Scott’s adult son was killed in a gun accident in which he believes a trigger lock would have made a difference.

Davis proclaimed the benefits of the device:

“The lock costs $11. It is easy to apply and will save young children’s lives.

“Believe me, it is a lot easier to childproof a weapon than to bulletproof a child.”

The third bill, by Assemblywoman Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro), requires the certification of gun show promoters, prohibits minors from attending gun shows unless accompanied by an adult and requires additional background information on those who sell guns.

Steve Helsley, California liaison for the National Rifle Assn., predicted that the trigger-lock and unsafe-gun bills would have little positive impact, and may indeed backfire.

He said trigger locks often don’t work and are no substitute for education.

“Just because you put the Club on the steering wheel of your car doesn’t mean you don’t have to teach your 16-year-old how to drive,” Helsley said.

He said Polanco’s bill would only add to the already bustling black market where handguns are bought and sold. Any guns that did not pass safety tests would simply be sold there, he said, as opposed to through licensed gun shops or by licensed dealers.

He called the two laws “highly symbolic,” adding, “we don’t think they provide any additional safety.”

Ruett Foster, who lost his son Evan, 7, to a gangster’s stray bullet two years ago, said the new laws were a good start, but they need to go much further before kids would be safe.

“People are so concerned about their rights,” he said. “They need to focus on doing what’s right.”

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Trigger Locks Required

Gov. Gray Davis on Friday signed a bill requiring that trigger locks be included with all firearms sold in California as of Jan. 1.