The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a series of gun control measures Tuesday on the heels of last month's mass shooting in Monterey Park, just 8 miles away from the boardroom.
The package included roughly half a dozen measures aimed at curbing fatal shootings within the county. Most will need to go through additional vetting before they become county law.
Only two ordinances discussed Tuesday are expected to take effect soon. One would prohibit the sale of .50 caliber handguns — firearms with half-inch-thick bullets — in unincorporated L.A. County. The second would prohibit carrying firearms on county property, which includes beaches, parks and buildings — even if the person has a concealed carry permit. There is an exception for law enforcement.
The board will take a final vote on the motion, authored by Supervisors Janice Hahn and Hilda Solis, in two weeks.
"Here we are: Facing a gun violence epidemic that continues to devastate our communities," Hahn said. "Today we're taking steps forward in our fight against gun violence."
Several other measures related to gun reform discussed Tuesday will take more time to implement.
The county is working on zoning restrictions that would enact a 1,000-foot buffer zone between gun stores and "child safety zones," which Hahn defined in the meeting as places where children gather, such as playgrounds. The county is also considering an ordinance that would enhance regulations for gun dealers, including requirements that they maintain security cameras and keep a finger print log.
These regulations would apply only to gun dealers in unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County.
The supervisors also asked the county's lawyers Tuesday to start drafting three separate ordinances aimed at keeping guns solely in the hands of those who know how to use them. One would require gun stores within the county to prominently display warning signs stating that having a gun in the home increases the "risk of suicide, homicide, death during domestic disputes and unintentional deaths to children."
The second would require guns kept at home to be safely stored in a locked container or disabled by using a trigger lock. And the third would require gun owners to have liability insurance. County leaders say they hope insurance would require gun owners to take classes on how to safely use and store guns.
The motion kick-starting these ordinances was authored by Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Solis.
Horvath said the push for safer storage of guns hit close to home. She said someone she'd played with as a child lost his life after playing with a gun that his parents kept in an unlocked closet.
Stacey Moseley, a volunteer with the California chapter of Moms Demand Action, said that of everything passed Tuesday, she believed the storage measure would have the largest impact. She said her husband survived an accidental shooting in a home when he was a child.
"If we can keep guns out of the hands of people who are not supposed to have them — either through theft or a child that finds it in a closet — we can save lives," Moseley said.
But Steven Lamb, an Altadena resident and former council member, said he found the board's package — notably the gun safety storage measure — "outrageous." Lamb, who said he has owned a century-old .22 single shot Remington since he was 7, wanted easy access to his gun.
"It makes the gun useless for its intended purpose, which is to protect you," he said, adding he did not trust the police to get to his house in a reasonable time if someone broke in.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger said she supported the package but wanted to see the county do more to crack down guns that are illegally purchased.
"When we do things like this, my concern is we are not getting to the root cause of what is going on," Barger said. "The impact is it's a false sense of security."
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