COUNCIL OKS CURB ON GUNS : ORDINANCE BANS SALE OF CHEAP FIREARMS.

Byline: Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writer

Joining the debate over gun control, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday adopted a law banning the sale of cheap pistols known as Saturday night specials.

Barring any legal challenge, the ordinance approved on a 13-0 vote and signed into law by council President John Ferraro will take effect in 30 days.

``This particular ordinance doesn't ban the right to possess these cheap guns and it does not ban all handguns,'' said City Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg. ``But it does ban the sale of these unsafe weapons that have a purpose only of hurting people.''

Goldberg and other supporters say Saturday night specials are responsible for a disproportionate number of violent crimes in the city. But a spokesman for the National Rifle Association said the city is powerless to enforce the ban.

``We think all these (measures) are a clear violation of the state's pre-emption on gun laws,'' said Steve Helsley, the NRA's liaison for California. ``There have been a collection of opinions from the California Supreme Court and others that cities are pre-empted from this field.''

Helsley said the NRA has not ruled out a legal challenge of the city's ordinance, but likely will await the outcome of its suit against a similar ordinance passed by the West Hollywood City Council. A trial date is set for Sept. 24 in Los Angeles Superior Court.

However, West Hollywood Mayor Paul Koretz said he is confident the city's statute will be upheld.

``Although we are being challenged, our legal experts say they believe we are on safe grounds and not dealing with state pre-emption,'' Koretz said. ``We believe there is a clear consensus not to have these guns in society.''

Even so, the state Attorney General's Office said in a 1994 opinion that cities had no jurisdiction over the sale of handguns and could deal only with the ministerial job of licensing gun dealers.

``The state has so thoroughly occupied this field that we have no doubt that regulating firearms sales is beyond the reach of local government,'' the opinion said. ``Cities and counties have been charged with the execution of the state's program for the licensing of firearms dealers, but their role is ministerial in nature.''

Councilman Mike Feuer, after questioning Assistant City Attorney Henry Morris that state law had been considered in drafting the city measure, said he was confident the city ban will be upheld.

``This can pass legal muster,'' Feuer insisted. ``We all know that cheap, easily accessible guns contribute to making our streets more violent. This is a reasonable, necessary step.''

The Los Angeles measure came about from a proposal introduced earlier this year by the council's four women members - Goldberg, Laura Chick, Ruth Galanter and Rita Walters.

Goldberg said she hoped that by Los Angeles adopting such a ban, it would spur the state Legislature to take similar steps. Several years ago, the council voted to ban the sale of assault weapons and both the state Legislature and Congress followed with similar prohibitions.

Councilman Rudy Svorinich opposed the measure, but did not vote against it - walking out of the council chambers instead.

Svorinich's departure gave the ordinance a unanimous vote (Councilman Mike Hernandez is on vacation), which allowed it to be approved on first reading instead of coming back for a second vote next week.

``In conversations I've had with police officers, to make the statement that inexpensive handguns are the weapons of choice for criminals is wrong,'' Svorinich said. ``The weapons being confiscated are pretty good weapons. In fact, many are better than what the police carry.''

Also, he said he was concerned the council would be denying the right of poorer people to purchase weapons for self-protection.

``What we are saying is if you choose to buy a handgun to protect yourself, you can't do that in the city of Los Angeles unless you can spend $300 or $400,'' Svorinich said. ``People in the lower socioeconomic class will not be able to do that.''

The ordinance defines a Saturday night special as ``a pistol, revolver or firearm capable of being concealed upon the person . . . which contains a frame, barrel, breechblock, cylinder or slide that is not completely fabricated of heat-treated carbon steel, forged alloy or other material of equal or higher tensile strength.''

Other provisions of the ban include those guns not equipped by the manufacturer with ``a nondetachable safety guard surrounding the trigger . . . or is equipped with a barrel of less than 20 bore diameters in overall length protruding from the frame.''

The measure was signed immediately by Ferraro, who is acting mayor while Mayor Richard Riordan is in Israel.

Councilman Hal Bernson, who normally defends the right of people to own weapons, said the issue was so compelling he felt he had to support the ban.

``I am reluctantly supporting this because I feel we have to keep these out of the hands of people who will use them only for criminal purposes,'' Bernson said.

Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, in his appeal to adopt the measure, said handguns are the cause of most deaths of young people between the age of 10 and 25.

``This, on its own, is sufficiently compelling for us to do what is correct from both a legal and moral perspective,'' Ridley-Thomas said. ``Beyond that, as parents or people with concern for our children, this legislation is a must.''

The measure received mixed reviews from those involved in the gun sales business.

Don Baroni of B and B Guns in North Hollywood said he understood and agreed with the desire to get cheap handguns out of circulation.

At the same time, he questioned how effective the law would be.

``It doesn't affect us because we don't sell the cheesy guns of the Saturday night special variety,'' Baroni said. ``But all people will do is wait a week or two and rather than spend $60 on a cheap handgun, they'll spend $120 for a shotgun that will do five times the damage and has less of a waiting period than handguns.''

Ed Valencia, owner of the Ace Gun Shop in Van Nuys, said he felt the law was directed at smaller stores such as his.

``They're just trying to drive the little guy out of business,'' Valencia said. ``I've had a small shop here for 18 years and everything they do on this hurts us. It seems like they like to make a lot of noise and, to me, they leave a lot to be desired.''