Curbs on Small Handguns OKd

Citing the deadly violence at Santana High School, the Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to ban the sale of small, easily concealed handguns and to require purchasers of other firearms to provide a thumbprint.

Despite opposition from gun owners, the council voted 9 to 2 to ask the city attorney to draft an ordinance that would outlaw the sale in Los Angeles of so-called pocket rockets, handguns that are 6 3/4 inches long or less and 4 1/2 inches high or less.

“These concealable, compact weapons are the weapons of choice for criminals,” said Councilman Mike Feuer, who wrote the proposal.

Councilmen Hal Bernson and Rudy Svorinich Jr. voted against the ban, with Svorinich calling it “feel-good legislation.”

“This is not going to prevent criminals from getting guns,” Bernson said. “It’s just going to inhibit law-abiding citizens.”

The council also voted 10 to 1 in favor of an ordinance requiring thumbprints from gun buyers in Los Angeles to help prosecutors make a case against felons and others who attempt to buy weapons though they are not eligible to do so. Three members were absent, and Jackie Goldberg’s seat is vacant.

Because 12 votes were needed for passage on the first vote, the ordinance comes back for a final action next week when only 8 votes are required.

“It’s another step in the fight for gun control in our gun-crazed society,” said Councilwoman Rita Walters, who cited the recent fatal shooting at Santana High School in Santee as an example of the proliferation of gun violence. The alleged Santee gunman used a .22-caliber revolver that was not a small handgun.

The two measures, which are supported by Police Chief Bernard C. Parks, are the latest in a series, including a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, a ban on sale of Saturday night specials and a requirement that those who buy ammunition provide a thumbprint.

Several gun owners testified that banning the sale of smaller handguns will hurt small people and the disabled who need such weapons for protection.

“This is an unfair law,” said Joe Vanpola, who lost fingers on one hand in an industrial accident and said he needs a small gun. “It’s going to affect me and my wife. It won’t affect criminals.”

The ordinance was supported by Women Against Gun Violence, the Million Mom March and Arthur Peyser, who tearfully recounted how his daughter was shot to death in 1997.

“I lost a daughter to a small handgun that was easily concealed,” he told the council. “If she had seen that, she might still be with us.”

Louis Tolley of Handgun Control Inc. and former Police Commissioner Ann Reiss Lane of Women Against Gun Violence also testified in favor of the requirement that gun purchasers provide a thumbprint.

Nearly 5,000 prohibited people illegally tried to buy firearms in California in 1999 but were prevented by state Department of Justice background checks, officials said. That group included 17 people who had been convicted of murder.

“If they were trying to buy a gun, they were going to be engaging in another crime,” Feuer said.

However, few who illegally attempted to buy guns were prosecuted because it is difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a person applied to buy a gun without some physical evidence such as a thumbprint, according to Carmel Sella, special assistant city attorney.

Without a thumbprint, gun buyers can say someone else filed the application to buy a gun using their name, said Feuer, who said he believes the new law will be a deterrent to felons and minors trying to buy guns in Los Angeles.

The thumbprint will be kept by the gun seller and only used by police when a buyer is identified by the state Department of Justice as not being eligible to buy a gun.

Bernson voted for the measure even though he complained that there is a large backlog at the LAPD for checking fingerprints.

Svorinich voted against the thumbprint law, saying that the system is effectively blocking felons and others from buying guns and the new rule will only affect law-abiding citizens.