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Copley News Service
March 28, 2003 Friday
SECTION: CALIFORNIA ONLY
LENGTH: 454 words
HEADLINE: Gun bill targets minors
BYLINE: David Zahniser Copley News Service
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES
BODY:
City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and Sheriff Lee Baca called Friday for the passage of a bill prohibiting minors who are convicted of weapons possession from obtaining another gun until they turn 30.
Delgadillo, Baca and a handful of city leaders, including Police Chief William Bratton, said Assembly Bill 319 would reduce gang crime by targeting young offenders who stay with gangs well into adulthood.
The measure would also punish the 500 youths in California who are arrested each year for bringing a weapon to school, Delgadillo said.
"This is exactly the type of person we need to prevent from owning a deadly weapon," he said.
Los Angeles has seen 116 homicides occur so far this year, 83 percent of them involving a gun. Nearly half of the killings involved victims between the ages of 13 and 24, including a boy who was shot and killed last week outside a church.
Under state law, juveniles convicted of dangerous felonies - including murder, kidnapping and rape - are prohibited from possessing a weapon until they turn 30. AB 319, authored by Assemblyman Dario Frommer, D-Glendale, would add to that list of crimes possession of a concealed or loaded weapon and keeping a weapon in one's car.
Delgadillo said he proposed closing the loophole regarding youth weapons violations, asking Frommer to carry the legislation.
The California Rifle and Pistol Association, an advocacy group that defends gun ownership, has not taken a position on the bill, said spokesman Chuck Michel. Although the group typically supports legislation that targets criminal behavior, Michel said he fears that AB 319 could inadvertently harm well-meaning gun aficionados.
Any bill dealing with minors should differentiate between "a junior Olympic competitor coming back from the (shooting) range and a gang member going to commit a crime," said Michel, a San Pedro-based attorney.
"We oppose anything that fails to recognize those legitimate shooters," he said. "The (gun) laws are so complex - these people sometimes make mistakes."
In Los Angeles, city officials have grown increasingly frustrated with gang-related killings of children and adolescents. On Friday, Councilman Nate Holden called for a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who gunned down 13-year-old Joseph Swift, the boy shot near a church.
Baca said Friday that he and Bratton also plan to hold a summit for police chiefs from across Los Angeles County to seek state laws regarding gangs, graffiti, guns, curfew - anything connected to youth violence. Ultimately, the county needs to have a gang planning authority, Baca said.
"We are, in fact, the gang capital of America," he said.
March 28, 2003 Friday
SECTION: CALIFORNIA ONLY
LENGTH: 454 words
HEADLINE: Gun bill targets minors
BYLINE: David Zahniser Copley News Service
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES
BODY:
City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and Sheriff Lee Baca called Friday for the passage of a bill prohibiting minors who are convicted of weapons possession from obtaining another gun until they turn 30.
Delgadillo, Baca and a handful of city leaders, including Police Chief William Bratton, said Assembly Bill 319 would reduce gang crime by targeting young offenders who stay with gangs well into adulthood.
The measure would also punish the 500 youths in California who are arrested each year for bringing a weapon to school, Delgadillo said.
"This is exactly the type of person we need to prevent from owning a deadly weapon," he said.
Los Angeles has seen 116 homicides occur so far this year, 83 percent of them involving a gun. Nearly half of the killings involved victims between the ages of 13 and 24, including a boy who was shot and killed last week outside a church.
Under state law, juveniles convicted of dangerous felonies - including murder, kidnapping and rape - are prohibited from possessing a weapon until they turn 30. AB 319, authored by Assemblyman Dario Frommer, D-Glendale, would add to that list of crimes possession of a concealed or loaded weapon and keeping a weapon in one's car.
Delgadillo said he proposed closing the loophole regarding youth weapons violations, asking Frommer to carry the legislation.
The California Rifle and Pistol Association, an advocacy group that defends gun ownership, has not taken a position on the bill, said spokesman Chuck Michel. Although the group typically supports legislation that targets criminal behavior, Michel said he fears that AB 319 could inadvertently harm well-meaning gun aficionados.
Any bill dealing with minors should differentiate between "a junior Olympic competitor coming back from the (shooting) range and a gang member going to commit a crime," said Michel, a San Pedro-based attorney.
"We oppose anything that fails to recognize those legitimate shooters," he said. "The (gun) laws are so complex - these people sometimes make mistakes."
In Los Angeles, city officials have grown increasingly frustrated with gang-related killings of children and adolescents. On Friday, Councilman Nate Holden called for a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who gunned down 13-year-old Joseph Swift, the boy shot near a church.
Baca said Friday that he and Bratton also plan to hold a summit for police chiefs from across Los Angeles County to seek state laws regarding gangs, graffiti, guns, curfew - anything connected to youth violence. Ultimately, the county needs to have a gang planning authority, Baca said.
"We are, in fact, the gang capital of America," he said.