County Ban Urged on Concealable Guns

Saying violence follows gun sales, Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky called Tuesday for a ban on “Saturday night specials” and other easily concealable weapons in unincorporated areas of the county.

The proposal, modeled on the city of Los Angeles ordinance, would also prohibit federally licensed gun dealers from selling firearms in any neighborhood zoned as a residential area, including sales from homes or cars.

“What we have found is [that] not surprisingly, where there is a preponderance of gun sales, there is also a preponderance of violence,” said Yaroslavsky. “And it is almost a direct connection between the proximity of the sale and the gun violence.”

Yaroslavsky said there are 2,200 federal firearms license holders in the county--more than seven times the number of McDonald’s restaurants and more than double the number of schools.

Yaroslavsky’s proposal would also require county health officials to more efficiently track injuries caused by gun violence.

Anti-gun-control activists said the proposal is similar to measures they are already fighting in the courts and legislative arenas around the state.

“I would say it’s political posturing,” said Steve Helsley, the Sacramento-based state lobbyist for the National Rifle Assn. “I would submit to you that firearms dealers are as regulated as anyone else.”

Helsley said that firearms dealers in California must have a local business license, a resale permit from the state Board of Equalization and a certificate of eligibility from the state that requires a background check. Dealers also need a Federal Firearms License from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which requires a second background check, Helsley said.

Such proposals, he added, “are a solution in search of a problem. In no place where we have seen these [restrictions] have home gun dealers been a problem.”

Last month, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismissed a challenge to a West Hollywood ordinance that bans the sale of cheap handguns. The judge ruled that state gun laws did not preempt the local law.

Yaroslavsky brought up gun control during a speech at Tuesday’s board meeting in which he outlined his plans as the incoming chairman of the board. While the post--which is rotated annually among the supervisors--holds only ceremonial power, the chair often uses the position to focus on specific issues.

Supervisor Mike Antonovich, the departing chairman, focused on long-term financial planning issues. Antonovich persuaded a majority of the board to rename the position “mayor.” Yaroslavsky has said he will ignore the title.

Yaroslavsky said that in addition to changing the county gun ordinance, he will focus on children’s issues and seek to ensure that each county department is audited.

Yaroslavsky, who represents most of the San Fernando Valley and Westside, said a county gun-control ordinance is necessary because as cities like Los Angeles and West Hollywood have enacted their own gun-control measures during the past two years, illicit gun dealers have started relocating to the county’s unincorporated areas.

The supervisor said he will introduce the motion to the Board of Supervisors next month to coincide with the release of a county Department of Health Services study that shows the areas where gun dealers in the county are located.

The study found that most of the county’s gun dealers sell firearms within 1,000 feet of a school, said Christian Giangreco, a Los Angeles County epidemiologist.

And Yaroslavsky said that in areas where guns are sold, the level of violence increases. The areas, he said, include Temple City, Lennox, Watts and the Antelope Valley.

“We are talking about a lot of the high-violence areas, and we are talking a lot about the high gun-sale areas,” Yaroslavsky said.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg, who introduced the city’s September law, said the law will help continue the countywide trend of banning cheap pistols and requiring gun dealers to operate out of stores, and away from schools and residential neighborhoods.

“I’m glad to see Zev is taking a chapter from the city’s book,” said Goldberg.

Among board members, Yvonne Brathwaite Burke said she would probably support Yaroslavsky’s plan, while Antonovich and newly elected Don Knabe said they would have to study the proposal before deciding. A spokesman for Gloria Molina said the supervisor also wants to wait to see the proposal, but has generally supported tough restrictions on handguns.