link
:banghead:
I'd like to see that one crime to which Lt. Suhr is referring.
Would banning .50s have prevented the SBC Park stabbing? No.
Would banning .50s have prevented Maxine Danner's strangling? No.
Would banning .50s have prevented ANY crime in the City?
City nearing ban on big-guns
Ordinance would rid S.F. of .50 calibur rifles.
By Jo Stanley | Staff Writer
Published on Friday, October 1, 2004
URL: http://www.examiner.com/article/index.cfm/i/100104n_guns
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San Francisco is moving toward a local ordinance banning virtually all .50-caliber rifles and handguns -- along with their ammunition -- taking gun control a step further than a new state law that goes into effect next year.
"This is a pretty comprehensive ordinance," said Juliet Leftwich, of the gun-control advocacy group Legal Community Against Violence. She said the proposed law that passed unanimously at a Board of Supervisors City Services Committee on Thursday is the first she knows of to ban the bullets that go into either the large-caliber military style rifles, also called sniper rifles, or the big-bore handguns more recently created by gun manufacturers. The new state law bans the rifles only.
At Smith & Wesson, whose 500 series handgun was named "Handgun of the Year" by a trade group when it was released in 2003, a spokesman commented that the 15-inch-plus weapon, which costs more than $1,000, is intended for hunting, and is so big that he doubts it would often be used on the street.
But the proposed ordinance, headed for a full board vote on Oct. 19, notes that there could be "significant" criminal activity or even potential terrorist threats associated with the big guns, which can pierce protective armor.
The local measure, sponsored by Supervisor Matt Gonzalez, received backing from colleagues Bevan Dufty, Fiona Ma and Sean Elsbernd. It requires the firearm owners to report to authorities within 48 hours of any theft or loss, while ordering gun dealers to perform background checks to weed out felons.
Police Lt. David Oberhoffer, who heads the Crime Scene Investigation Unit, said the notification rule could address a frequently heard story that people whose weapons are used in a crime aren't responsible because their weapons had been lost or stolen. "We get that a lot," he said, adding that how to enforce such a provision could become an issue.
As for guns being used most frequently in local crimes, the lieutenant said the .38 special is the most prevalent, a cheap throwaway. But the .50-caliber was used in a shooting in recent years, said Deputy Police Chief Greg Suhr.
The Smith & Wesson Web site describes the handgun as useful for "any game walking." But it also notes that a smaller, lighter version, with a barrel only half as long as the first .50-caliber handgun, is now available.
So far, Contra Costa County and Los Angeles have blocked the sale, and Leftwich says the East Bay county has been sued over its regulation. Her group provides aid in locating free counsel to defend gun-control moves.
:banghead:
I'd like to see that one crime to which Lt. Suhr is referring.
Would banning .50s have prevented the SBC Park stabbing? No.
Would banning .50s have prevented Maxine Danner's strangling? No.
Would banning .50s have prevented ANY crime in the City?
