L.A. council tightens gun, ammunition laws

[Lodge2004]

Political grandstanding in LA

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/los_a ... ?track=rss" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The move is intended to help reduce the city's gun and gang violence, but an NRA lawyer says a lawsuit is likely.
By Maeve Reston

December 18, 2008

The Los Angeles City Council approved a package of gun control laws Wednesday, placing new requirements on ammunition sellers and banning the sale of military-style ammunition in the hopes of further reducing the city's gun and gang violence.

The measures ban the sale of .50-caliber ammunition, capable of penetrating a car's engine, and would require the city's ammunition vendors to be licensed, to sell ammunition face-to-face instead of over the Internet and require gun dealers to report a full accounting of their inventory twice a year to the Police Department.

The council passed laws prohibiting the installation of secret compartments for guns in cars and allowing the city to permanently seize vehicles used by certain gang members during a crime, which was proposed by City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo.

The council also approved an ordinance that would allow landlords to evict tenants who are convicted of illegally possessing weapons or ammunition within 1,000 feet of the rental property.

A lawyer for the National Rifle Assn. said his client probably would file suit to block some of the measures.

Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who helped develop the ordinances with Councilman Jack Weiss and other members, praised the package at a news conference before the vote.

"We use this to stop a vehicle," Bratton said, holding up a .50-caliber bullet longer and thicker than a finger. "Unless you are out trying to kill Godzilla, and I think the last time we saw Godzilla was in the 1950s, there is no need for this type of weapon" unless it is in the hands of the military or law enforcement, he said.

Villaraigosa dismissed questions about whether the ammunition restrictions would have a practical effect since buyers could simply purchase the bullets over the Internet or in cities where the laws do not apply.

"Part of what we're doing here is leading the way," Villaraigosa said, stating that the measures are another tool to fight gun violence and that he hoped other cities and President-elect Barack Obama's administration would follow suit. "This is the most far-reaching effort of any big city in the country. . . . This isn't about symbolism; it's about results."

The council approved the measures unanimously.

But C.D. Michel, a Long Beach attorney who represents the National Rifle Assn. and the California Rifle & Pistol Assn., said his clients were likely to sue over the new laws governing ammunition sales and vendors because they either conflict with or are duplicated by state law.

Michel, the law partner of city attorney candidate Carmen A. Trutanich, also questioned the effectiveness of the ammunition measures, noting that there are only a handful of gun vendors left in the city and buyers could go elsewhere.

"A lot of these don't really do what the sound bite would portray them as doing," said Michel, who accused Weiss of pushing the measures to get publicity for his own campaign for city attorney. "It's about trying to look like you're doing something when you're not really doing anything. . . . My clients will just just challenge the ones that are illegal in court."

Weiss, who introduced four of the ordinances and is chairman of the city's public safety committee, addressed the possibility of legal challenges by the NRA at the news conference.

"I think the message from everyone up here to the NRA is pretty simple: Make our day. We will fight you in court. We will win," Weiss said.

Weiss has criticized Trutanich's associations with the NRA, which is likely to be an issue in the city attorney's race.

After several council members received a letter from Michel on the letterhead of the Trutanich-Michel firm challenging several proposed gun and ammunition ordinances, Weiss called on his opponent to "fire the NRA as a client or quit the race for city attorney."

Weiss' campaign also circulated a news article to reporters in which Trutanich refers to the NRA as his client.

But when Weiss raised the issue in early December, Trutanich released a statement stating that the NRA is not his client, he is not a member of the organization and he disagrees with many of the NRA's positions.

His campaign manager said he was misquoted when he referred to the NRA as a client in the August news article.

[CHL/LEO]

... that he hoped other cities and President-elect Barack Obama's administration would follow suit.

Probably soon after his inauguration and a lot more draconian.

[jimlongley]

I always love it when anyone decides to impress everyone by touting a particular ammo as being capable of penetrating a car's engine.

First of all it's a truly dubious measure of ballistic efficiency, not many people know how much it takes to penetrate a car's engine.

Second, an engine, is not a solid lump of metal, it's a hollow shell with lots of things moving around inside it, so I always wonder just how far something has to penetrate to deem the engine as being penetrated. I mean, after all, a connecting rod can penetrate outwards (exitrate? ) with little difficulty, been there, done that, got oil and parts all over the highway.

Third, so what? Cast iron and aluminum are relatively brittle and I have shot holes in engine blocks with a .22LR. (see above about the thin parts)

And then there is the new shift from "Can penetrate an engine block! to "capable of penetrating a car's engine' which adds a new level of difficulty in the eyes of the unknowing.

Like Chucky Schumer's three and one half inch manhole cover, this is a device used to create fear and trepidation in the minds of those credulous and unquestioning types who see it as some miracle accomplishment. Chucky's manhole cover was less than a half inch thick in most places, with a rim and webbing that did indeed reach about a depth of three and one half inches, but like engine blocks, they are not solid metal, they just look massive.

I have sent them a letter, but expect little response.

And besdies everything else, we all know that .50BMG rounds just made Godzilla mad, they didn't stop him.

[The Annoyed Man]

"Part of what we're doing here is leading the way," Villaraigosa said, stating that the measures are another tool to fight gun violence and that he hoped other cities and President-elect Barack Obama's administration would follow suit. "This is the most far-reaching effort of any big city in the country. . . . This isn't about symbolism; it's about results."

He's not just blowing smoke....


LA's Mayor Part of Obama Transition Team

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is in Chicago today, taking part in meetings with President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden.

Villaraigosa is serving as part of the Transition Economic Advisory Board, which includes other politicians and businesspeople, including two affiliated with UC Berkeley, Robert Reich (Former Secretary, U.S. Dept of Labor, 1993-1997) and Laura Tyson (Former Chairman, National Economic Council, 1995-1996; Former Chairman, President's Council of Economic Advisors, 1993-1995), along with Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, Warren Buffett, Chairman of the Board of Time Warner Richard Parsons, and Chairman and CEO of Google Eric Schmidt and several others from around the nation.

Of his involvement with the Obama team, Villaraigosa said: “I’m honored to serve on the Transition Economic Advisory Board to help President-elect Obama bring economic relief to our families, invest in our infrastructure and to start putting people back to work." Villaraigosa's participation on the team may not come as a surprise to those following the political career of our local head-honcho, considering his rumored yen for a higher office and his growing national profile and despite his previous public support of Obama's onetime Dem ticket rival Hillary Clinton.

I've actually met Villaraigosa a couple of times. He's a smoothie. Very nice, very polished, very "sincere." Don't believe a thing he tells you.

Mayor Villaraigosa talks about serving on Obama's transition team

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is a member of President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team. Mayor Villaraigosa will serve on Obama’s economic advisory board.

The Mayor told KPCC’s “Patt Morrison” how it felt to stand alongside the president-elect during his first press conference.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: “Well, you know, it’s was an honor and I pinch my cheek all the time; I have since I got elected to public office. Feel very honored to be able to be here to represent our city and representing cities across the country, and you know whatever input I can give I certainly want to do that, and do it both humbly, but also understanding that we have a unique perspective to share as the second largest city in America.”

Mayor Villaraigosa recommended that Obama expand unemployment benefits as a buffer against the effects of joblessness on cities. He noted that unemployment rates are two percentage points higher in the city of Los Angeles than the national average of just over six percent.

Hey genius... If you know so much about the economy, why is unemployment so much higher in your city?

Jeeze I'm glad I left L.A.

[OverEasy]

Can the rest of us just vote California out of the Union? I think we would all be happier!
I'm tired of waiting for 'The Big One'.(that magnitude 30 quake they have been promising, that never comes)
Yes, I know what time of year it is.
Merry Christmas, OE

[flintknapper]

Can the rest of us just vote California out of the Union? I think we would all be happier!
I'm tired of waiting for 'The Big One'.(that magnitude 30 quake they have been promising, that never comes)Yes, I know what time of year it is.
Merry Christmas, OE

I'd settle for a 26-28, SOMETHING.......!

[ghostrider]

>The Los Angeles City Council approved a package of gun control laws Wednesday, placing new
> requirements on ammunition sellers and banning the sale of military-style ammunition in the
>hopes of further reducing the city's gun and gang violence.

I'm not sure what is worse, the people who come up with this stuff, or the people who actually
believe it will have any effect on crime.



>The council passed laws prohibiting the installation of secret compartments for guns in cars
>and allowing the city to permanently seize vehicles used by certain gang members during a
>crime, which was proposed by City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo.

That's silly. Clearly they should just ban possession of cars by those certain gang members.
Wait... if they know who those certain gang members are, shouldn't they already be in jail?