Bill Seeks To Give Cities Power To Regulate Guns
This story was written by Rachel Gross, Daily Californian
A local member of the California State Assembly has authored a state bill that would enable cities in California to impose their own handgun laws.
The bill, authored by California Assemblymember Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, seeks to address the high rates of violence in East Bay cities by allowing those cities to create their own handgun bans and other laws that restrict guns.
"We're concerned with high gun violence in Oakland, Berkeley and Richmond," said Armando Viramontes, Hancock's legislative aide. "Lower governments are on the front line in dealing with gun violence. Because they are being affected, they have the right to make those choices."
State law currently prevents localities from drafting their own gun laws. Viramontes said Hancock's bill would remove the state laws and allow cities to take legislative action against high crime rates. Advertisement
Berkeley City Councilmember Darryl Moore said he strongly supports the bill because it addresses the spike in violence in the Bay Area. He said he plans to write a resolution urging the rest of the council to back it as well.
"We have too many guns on our streets, and if this gives local municipalities a tool to ban handguns and get them off the streets, then I am in support of it," Moore said.
However, not all East Bay residents believe a bill allowing gun bans would reverse the trend of gun violence.
"It would be a catastrophe for anyone who thinks they have any rights at all to defend themselves in their own homes or businesses," said Robert Weaver, 52, the owner of the Old West Gun Room in El Cerrito.
Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, who is married to Hancock, acknowledged the massive opposition facing the bill, but said it remains important because it creates constructive dialogue about the current epidemic of gun violence.
"It's a great idea that needs to be put on the table to provoke discussion and debate," Bates said. "(We will) see if it does happen this year, but if it doesn't, we need to keep after it, because the alternative is to keep seeing people kill each other unnecessarily."
According to Viramontes, the bill was tabled during Tuesday's committee hearing in the interests of waiting for the United States Supreme Court to rule on a case involving a similar ban on handguns in Washington, D.C. The case may be reconsidered next week.
The Heller case, as the Supreme Court case is called, highlights issues about the legality of gun laws and the scope of the Second Amendment. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the case by the end of June.
However, Viramontes believes that the Heller case will not affect the passage of Hancock's bill because Washington, D.C. is neither a city nor a state.
A similar case that may affect the bill is the California Superior Court ruling that overturned San Francisco's citywide ban on handguns in 2006. According to Viramontes, the ban passed in San Francisco with overwhelming support and was also a reaction to high gun violence.
But the San Francisco gun ban was struck down because it violated state laws. The current bill aims to alter the state law, which could create the potential for local control that does not violate state law.
If the bill passes, Viramontes said, cities like Oakland and Richmond will likely modify their standards for gun control. He added that the bill could serve as an example of how cities can deal with gun violence.
"California is one of the leading states in gun control legislation, so yes, I think this bill could be model legislation that other states would look into to address the gun violence problem," Viramontes said.
© 2008 Daily Californian via U-WIRE