TOP COPS, MAYOR WANT NEW GUN LAWS.

Byline: RICK ORLOV

Staff Writer

Legislation being introduced this week in Sacramento to toughen gun rules received support Thursday from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and local law enforcement leaders.

While some of the measures have failed in previous legislative sessions and others are modeled after local laws, all are designed to help police reduce violence.

Officials said the measures also will help attack gang crime by making it easier to identify the owners of weapons.

"These bills will give us the legal ammunition to go after gangs," said Villaraigosa, who was joined by Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton and county Sheriff Lee Baca.

Displaying an AR-15 assault weapon, Baca said officials recently seized 300 weapons illegally possessed in Compton -- 80 percent of them reported lost or stolen by their owners.

"This is a weapon that was not designed for sport," Baca said, holding the AR-15 in the air. "This is a weapon that was not designed for hunting. This is a weapon of war."

A measure by Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles, calls for gun manufacturers to develop weapons that imprint a microstamp on bullets, allowing police to identify which weapon was used in a crime.

Assemblyman Kevin DeLeon, D-Los Angeles, has introduced a measure calling for anyone who sells ammunition to be licensed.

Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, has introduced a bill similar to a Los Angeles law that requires gun owners to report within 48 hours whenever a weapon is lost or stolen.

State Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Van Nuys, has introduced a measure that would give law enforcement officials more time to use the national Integrated Ballistics Information Network to track weapons used in crimes.

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com

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