Communities in the Lead

If gun violence is a national problem, what good does it do for cities like Los Angeles and Compton and Beverly Hills to pass local gun restrictions? Plenty, it turns out.

Certainly, tough federal gun limits and enforcement are the most effective ways to keep these weapons out of the wrong hands and to get assault guns and cheap, unreliable handguns off the streets. State restrictions are the next best approach, and with his signature on a quartet of bills in recent months, including a tough new ban on assault weapons, Gov. Gray Davis has put California out in front of other states.

So why are cities and counties getting involved? One obvious reason is that local communities experience the grief and horror of gun violence most searingly, communities like North Hollywood, Littleton, Colo., Granada Hills and Jonesboro, Ark., where bullets have ripped through schools or day care centers and turned quiet residential areas into scenes of mayhem. That’s why a delegation of 50 urban police chiefs, many of whom once balked at stronger gun laws, lobbied President Clinton last week to extend federal background-check requirements to gun shows and require child safety locks on firearms.

In many California communities wounded by gun violence, pressure of this kind generated ordinances that broke important new ground. New state laws banning the sale of junk handguns, limiting handgun purchases to one per month and requiring child safety locks were local ordinances first. The message from communities was unmistakable: We want these guns off the streets. Sacramento lawmakers heard it.

Cities and counties have taken the lead in other areas where the state has yet to follow. For instance, local ordinances in nearly 50 California jurisdictions prohibit gun dealers from operating in residential neighborhoods. Fourteen communities bar dealerships near schools, parks, places of worship and liquor stores. Several require gun dealers to carry liability insurance and keep records of their ammunition sales. The city of Los Angeles has adopted all of these ordinances and Los Angeles County has adopted most of them. Such measures should become priorities for Sacramento.

Elected officials from a dozen Los Angeles-area communities have met regularly for the past four years to coordinate local gun control measures, leveraging one city’s ordinance into regional gun limits. For example, when Los Angeles required that guns be sold with trigger locks, some nearby cities quickly followed suit.

What else should cities and counties do?

Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Feuer is pushing the city to require that guns be personalized. Some low-tech devices to prevent accidental or unauthorized firings, such as mechanical combination locks, already exist, while gadgets like computerized rings coded to release trigger locks are under study. Last week, the council unanimously voted to direct city law enforcement officials to study short- and long-term options and report back.

Ammunition sales also need a close look. Councilman Mike Hernandez has proposed a citywide ban on bullet sales. A more sensible approach would be to enforce existing state requirements. State law already bars ammo purchases by minors and felons, who also are barred from buying guns, but since background checks are not required for ammunition sales, enforcement is almost impossible. Los Angeles requires ammo buyers to show proof of age, leave a thumbprint and sign a dealer log. But even this might not stop a convicted felon or mentally unstable person from walking out of a gun store with boxes of bullets. Requiring long-term permits and background checks for ammunition purchasers could do that. Feuer first brought up this approach in 1997 and probably will introduce it again soon.

Progress locally toward both goals--tighter ammunition sales and personalized guns--could put new pressure on state and federal lawmakers to do more. In the meantime, these measures would make Los Angeles safer.