The
proposals would make it easier for landlords to evict tenants who illegally use
guns. Ammunition vendors would have to get permits. Sales of .50-caliber
ammunition would also be banned.
By
Maeve Reston
December 9, 2008
The
Public Safety Committee of the Los Angeles City Council approved a package of
gun control measures Monday that would make it easier for landlords to evict
tenants with illegal firearms and ammunition, place new requirements on
ammunition vendors and allow the city to permanently seize cars from some gang
members.
The measures were introduced by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and
Councilmen Greig Smith and Jack Weiss, a candidate for city attorney, in May as
part of the mayor's antigang initiative.
Los
Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton and City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo appeared
at the news conference to show support for the efforts.
Delgadillo spoke
in favor of the measure to seize vehicles used by gang members, which originated
in his office according to his staff.
Under the eviction measure
proposed by Weiss and council members Janice Hahn and Eric Garcetti, landlords
could evict a tenant who illegally used guns or ammunition within 1,000 feet of
a rental property.
The
committee also approved measures requiring ammunition vendors to obtain permits
from the Police Commission for sales and to conduct those sales face-to-face
with buyers.
Under one of the proposed ordinances, the employees handling
ammunition would also be subject to a background check.
Another
measure creates a requirement for gun dealers to inspect their inventory twice a
year -- reporting any lost or stolen weapons to the Police Department and
providing an affidavit of the inspections.
The committee also approved an
ordinance banning the sale of .50-caliber ammunition.
Rhonda Foster,
whose 7-year-old son Evan was killed in Inglewood's Darby Park in 1997 by a gunman
wielding an assault-style weapon, spoke in favor of the measure at the
meeting.
No one spoke in opposition to the measures at Monday's committee
meeting…
