Aug. 04--Los Angeles lawmakers on Tuesday once again waded into the national fray over gun control as the City Council unanimously threw its support behind a proposed law to require handguns in the home to be locked up or disabled with a trigger lock. Angelenos who violate the rules would face a misdemeanor charge.
Backers say the gun storage rules would help prevent deadly accidents and teen suicides by preventing guns from easily falling into the hands of curious children or despairing teens.
After a heated debate over the exact wording of the rules, the City Council now plans to exempt any gun owner who is carrying the weapon or has it under their control and close enough to be readily retrieved -- a change that initially worried some activists who had rallied behind the gun storage rules.
The newly revised wording, proposed by Councilman Paul Krekorian, was crafted to ease the concerns of the police department and the union that represents its officers. They argued that both current and retired officers needed swift access to their weapons to defend themselves from threats.
After city lawmakers clarified that a gun would have to be not only close by but under the control of the owner, gun control advocates said they were comfortable with the change.
"We're not against compromise," said Margot Bennett, executive director of Women Against Gun Violence, who had raised concerns about the revised wording in a council committee.
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The council voted to approve the rules in concept. The final wording of the proposed law must come back before city lawmakers for their approval.
The decision comes just a week after the City Council voted to ban ammunition magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds, a move that backers said was meant to curb the carnage of mass shootings by forcing attackers to stop and reload sooner.
Both plans have been staunchly opposed by gun rights supporters. The National Rifle Assn. and other groups have warned they may challenge both of the new ordinances in court, arguing that they violate the Second Amendment and are preempted by existing California law. It was not immediately clear after the Tuesday vote, however, whether the gun rights groups would oppose the newly revised wording of the proposed gun storage law.
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UPDATE
1:28 P.M.: This post was updated to add more context to the argument for the proposed rules.
12:49 P.M.: This post was updated to include more information about the proposed rules and reaction from a gun control advocate.
The first version of this post was published at 12:20 p.m.
