By unanimous vote, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors this week requested “a host of ordinances” aimed at gun control, including a prohibition on “gun vendors” from operating near schools, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.
The board, consisting of four Democrats and a single Republican, also wants to ban the sale of .50-caliber handguns and ammunition, which would certainly affect guns like the .500 Smith & Wesson Magnum and pistols chambered for .50 Action Express.
Supervisor Janice Hahn had remarked in June, as the board requested a report on possible firearm regulations, that there is “a gun violence epidemic in our nation,” according to KABC News. It’s a common theme employed by gun control proponents.
The motion states, “Gun violence continues to plague our communities and more Americans purchased guns in 2020 than any other year on record,” KABC reported. “Too many of our residents have already been victims of gun violence, either directly or indirectly, and too many others are afraid that they will become victims in the future.”
The board alluded to “common sense gun regulations,” suggesting they are “necessary” at “the local level.”
Fox News in Los Angeles said the proposals also include a ban on possession of firearms on all county property. Whether that might be challenged on constitutional grounds will likely be considered by gun rights groups.
According to the Daily News, Third District Supervisor Sheila Kuehl said the proposed ordinance package “fits well within the new restrictions imposed by the Supreme Court…They are common sense, but that doesn’t always apply to the Supreme Court.”
On June 23, the high court voted 6-3 to strike down a requirement in New York state that applicants for concealed carry licenses had to provide a “good cause” in order to obtain a permit. The court said this mandate was unconstitutional.
But the ruling has had an impact far outside the Empire State borders. A handful of other states, including California, had the same requirement. Gun control proponents were not happy about that, and lawmakers in Sacramento quickly went to work, adopting new regulations to skirt around the ruling.
According to Fox News, the board “directed county staff” to come up with several other regulations, including ammunition dealers to submit weekly reports on inventory, requiring those dealers to have county business licenses, requiring firearm and ammunition retailers to “maintain a fingerprint log” and install security cameras, to restrict access by minors to gun and ammunition stores and to notify customers about “gun owner responsibilities and gun laws along with options for nearby gun safety classes.”
