well, in los angeles, this is what some of the public officials, especially the chief of police has to say on this matter....
<a href=http://www.latimes.com/search/findcgi?action=View&VdkVgwKey=%2E%2E%2F%2E%2E%2Fvol7%2FCNS%5FDAYS%2F990818%2Ft000073652%2Ehtml&DocOffset=2&DocsFound=27&QueryZip=gun+control&Coll >LA Times Article</a> (link edited only...DC)
Officials Raise Battle Cry Against Gun Proliferation
Proposals: Baca and Garcetti join Parks' call for a ban on all assault weapons and Saturday night specials. Feinstein plans assault-gun bill with 'turn-in' program.
By MATT LAIT, TINA DAUNT, Times Staff Writers
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti on Tuesday joined LAPD Chief Bernard C. Parks in calling for new laws that would allow for the collection, destruction and prohibition of all assault weapons. Garcetti and Baca also supported Parks' call for elimination of small, cheap, poor-quality handguns known by some as Saturday night specials. But Baca said he would not ban small handguns that are of higher quality. In a related development Tuesday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), spurred by Parks' comments, announced that she would introduce legislation banning possession of all assault weapons.
A spokesman for Feinstein said the proposal would seek to collect weapons already in the hands of gun owners. Details of the "turn-in" program, such as how the owners would be compensated, have not yet been worked out, the spokesman said.
The flurry of activity follows the shooting rampage last week, allegedly by a neo-Nazi, that left five wounded at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills and a postman dead in Chatsworth. Baca, a former member of the National Rifle Assn., said the country's policymakers should not be afraid to enact more comprehensive gun control laws.
"Political cowardice is not something that is going to apply to solving this problem," said Baca at a luncheon hosted by The Times, which Garcetti and Parks also attended. "You have to stand up and say that common sense and doing the right thing are more important than holding political office. "If you can't take the heat from the NRA, then go do something else for a living," he added.
Parks, meanwhile, stepped up his campaign for more restrictive gun laws, proposing that firearms be ballistically tested and the results recorded before the guns are sold so they can be better traced if they are used in crimes. The chief said he intends to expand on comments he made last week on the issue at a news conference today.
Parks, who is hoping to use his high profile in law enforcement to press for tougher gun measures, has also proposed banning gun shows, where firearms are bought and sold with little regulation. Additionally, he said people with mental health problems or histories of committing violence should not be permitted to have guns. Parks said he plans to chip at the gun control issue "little by little" and realizes that the subject is a volatile one. "You can't get fuzzy and go too far and say, 'All guns have to disappear.' Then we lose folks," he said. "It would be wonderful to get federal legislation, but [local] jurisdictions should not be preempted from addressing their own concerns," he added. Parks said he does not object to people owning guns for hunting or home protection.
and you know, that chipping away is working....
[This message has been edited by cm (edited August 20, 1999).]
[This message has been edited by DC (edited August 20, 1999).]
