KNIGHT TRIES AGAIN WITH WEAPONS BILL : CRITICS SAY SENATOR'S WORDING TOO VAGUE.

Byline: Amy Collins Daily News Staff Writer

Last year Assemblyman W.J. ``Pete'' Knight carried heavy-caliber legislation that would have allowed most Californians to carry concealed weapons.

This year, Senator Knight, R-Palmdale, has lowered his sights, seeking instead to encourage local law enforcement agencies to ``deal fairly and in good faith'' with applicants.

``I can't get anything through that's stronger than that,'' Knight said Wednesday in an interview from his Sacramento office. He said the law enforcement lobby may even prevent this bill from passing.

``I'd like to get something through to help the people,'' Knight said.

The new legislation, Senate Bill 142, would add only two paragraphs to existing law and doesn't spell out what local agencies would have to do to be in compliance.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block criticized the legislation for being ``nebulous.''

``I don't know if it's watered down or not. It's less specific than last year,'' Block said. ``It leaves too much to individuals to interpret it any way they want.''

Block praised existing state law, which leaves the licensing process up to local police and sheriff's agencies to determine who should be allowed to carry concealed weapons. But the Knight bill would complicate matters, he said.

``I don't know what it means,'' he said. ``It would be a difficult law to administer.''

Josh Lowery, a legislative aide to Knight, acknowledged the bill isn't specific. ``I guess it depends on your definition of `fair,' '' he said.

Knight's office received several hundred complaints from people about the process of obtaining concealed weapons licenses, according to Lowery.

``That was one of their gripes, that they weren't getting a fair shake,'' he said. ``People are being stonewalled.''

Knight said some issuing agencies, including in Los Angeles, have refused to hand out applications to carry concealed weapons and have failed to review some applications that are submitted.

But Block said that's not true of his department. Any county resident can apply for a license, which will be reviewed by a committee that will notify the applicant of the results, Block said.

There are now 485 people licensed by the Sheriff's Department to carry concealed weapons. Block said that if he were supervising a rural area, he would be more inclined to award a license, but a place with the volatility of Los Angeles requires more discretion.

The county's policy on concealed weapons requires an applicant to give ``convincing evidence of a clear and present danger to life or of great bodily harm,'' proof of firearms training and demonstrate ``good character.''

Knight's earlier bill, introduced when he was still in the Assembly, sought to approve concealed weapons for anyone over 21 who had not been convicted of a felony, had a history of mental illness or had a gang affiliation. The bill was narrowly passed by the Assembly on a 41-32 vote, but was killed by a Democrat-controlled Senate committee in July.

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Photo: (color) W.J. ``Pete'' Knight

Bill may ease carrying weapon