GUN OWNERS MUST REPORT MISSING WEAPONS TO COPS.Byline: KERRY CAVANAUGH Staff Writer The Los Angeles City Council  The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. unanimously approved a new ordinance
Wednesday that would require gun owners whose weapons are lost or stolen
to report it to police within 48 hours.
The law is designed to crack down on ``straw buyers'' who purchase weapons for criminals, juveniles and others unable or unwilling to buy their own guns. Too often, police track guns used in a crime back to individuals who say they lost their gun or had it stolen, said Councilman Jack Weiss Jack Weiss, is a member of the Los Angeles City Council representing the 5th district. Weiss was elected in 2001 and reelected in 2005. The 5th district includes parts of the Westside and the San Fernando Valley. , who proposed the law. ``At that point, the police don't have an investigative or legal tool as a recourse,'' he said. ``This will give police the tool to pursue those people who are the source of so much of the violence in our city.'' The ordinance would require a city resident to report the loss or theft of a gun within 48 hours of learning the gun is missing. Failure to do so would be a misdemeanor. The rule would reach back five years and require anyone who lost or had a gun stolen within that time to report the loss to the Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . within 60 days.
Sam Paredes, executive director of Gun Owners of California, said the law could make gun owners criminals if they fail to report a gun stolen or lost, and he predicted the ordinance will almost certainly be challenged in court. ``The criminals, they will always outsmart out·smart tr.v. out·smart·ed, out·smart·ing, out·smarts To gain the advantage over by cunning; outwit. outsmart Verb Informal same as outwit Verb 1. the politicians, they will always outsmart the lawmakers and it's the law-abiding citizens that will get caught when they've done nothing wrong,'' he said. The Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. ordinance is modeled after similar laws in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden and Oakland. The state Legislature had also considered a law that would make it a crime to fail to report a missing gun within five days after realizing it's gone. However, the draft was made less stringent during negotiations, and the gun-control community ultimately pulled its support. Suzanne Verge with the Million Mom March The Million Mom March had its roots in August 1999, when Donna Dees-Thomases, a New Jersey mom with a public relations background and political connections, was horrified that a gunman shot at children in Granada Hills, California. Los Angeles chapter said she hopes Los Angeles' law will spur neighboring cities to enact similar ordinances. ``If we can make strong bills in each city,'' she said, ``it's easier to pass a statewide law.'' kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com (213) 978-0390 |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion