HomeMy WebLinkAboutNB 11 ASSAULT WEAPONS 03-6-89 ~ NEW BUSINESS
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DATE: ~t~.C:~ 1, 1989
?0: WILLIAM A. HUSTON, CITY
~ROM: POLICE DEPARTMENT
EC?: ASSAULT ~EAPONS
Recommenda ~ i on
The pleasure of the City Council.
BackEround
The City Council has expressed an interest in taking a position on the
assault rifle issue.
Resolution No. 89-34 supports Senate Bill 292 and Assembly Bill 357, which
are'identical bills co-authored by Senator Roberti and Assembly Member Roos.
They are a product of four months of collaboration by California Attorney
General John Van de Kamp, Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block, Los
Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates, and Alameda District Attorney Jack Meehan.
Input in connection with these bills was provided by the California P~ace
Officers' Association, the California Police Chiefs Association, the
California State Sheriffs' Association, and 'the California District
Attorneys' Association.
The control of ~uns by the government has been an emotionally charged issue
in American life for many years. Consequently, the laws governing the sale
of firearms are a patchwork effort at regulation.
Handgun buyers must wait 15 days to pick up their new weapons, during which
time their criminal history is checked. Buyers of longer-barreled guns
(including assault rifles) are entirely unregulated and virtually
unrecorded.. Anyone with a Driver's License and the money can buy these
weapons. Private sales of handguns and long rifles are entirely
unregulated.
The proposed legislation appears to be a workable, balanced approach which
targets the ~uns that are most subject to criminal abuse without needlessly
infringing upon other semi-automatic firearms having legitimate sports or
recreation uses (copy attached).
Should the City Council choose to take a position in support of regulating
'assault weapons, it is recommended Resolution No. 89-34 be adopted.
FRED WAKEFIELD
Acting Chief of Police
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RESOLUTION NO. 89-34
A'RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE GITY OF T'USTIN,
~ALIFORN!A~ SUPPORTING BILLS SB 292 AND AB 357
PERTAINING TO LIMITED REGULATION OF ASSAULT WEAPONS
The City Council'of the City of Tustin, California, does hereby resolve
as follows:
There has been an increase in concern about the easy availability
of assault weapons and the seemingly sharp rise in their criminal
use.
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Although there is a lack of meaningful statistics which makes it
difficult to cite precise numbers which demonstrates the danger of
semi-automatic assault weapons, these guns are undeniably appearing
with greater frequency and causing more harm on California's city
streets than ever before.
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Assault weapons and their modern commercial imitators were
originally designed to kill the enemy in time of war and are
distinguished by a high rate of fire and a high capacity of fire,
appeariDg in their commercial form as rifles, pistols and shotguns.
Today's semi-automatic assault weapon sold over the counter in
California gun stores, whether illegally converted to fully
automatic with a simple crank to increase its rate of fire, is not
unlike the machine gun outlawed in the United States 50 years ago.
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Senator Roberti and Assembly Member Roos have co-authored
legislation known as SB 292 (Roberti) and AB 357 (Roos), which
address the evergrowing problem of assault rifles that are more
subject to criminal abuse without infringing upon other semi-
automatic firearms having legitimate sports or recreational uses.
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The concept of regulating assault weapons as proposed by Senator
Roberti and Assembly Member Roos is supported by the City of
Tustin.
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City
of Tustin, California, on the 6th day of March, 1989.
ATTEST:
Ursula E. Kennedy
Mayor
Mary E. Wynn
City Clerk
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