New Jersey, New York, Hawaii and Washington, D.C. also ban possession of magazines that hold more than 10 bullets.
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Councilman Paul Krekorian, who has championed the law, said the measure will make it harder for people to get access to weapons that can cause many deaths in a short period of time. Once the ban is in effect, Los Angeles residents will have 60 days to comply with the new law either by turning in the magazines to police, legally selling them or removing them from the city.
Laurie Saffian, chair of the group Women Against Gun Violence, said the ordinance, along with another proposed law that would require guns to be kept in a locked box, are “life-saving measures”.
If that shooter had a high-capacity magazine, “there would be dozens if not hundreds of dead along Ventura Boulevard that we would be mourning today”, Krekorian said.
Parents Ruett and Rhonda Foster recounted how one of their sons was killed and another injured after a gunman with an assault weapon opened fire on their auto in Inglewood in 1997.
Next week, council members will vote on a revision that will exempt retired police officers from the law.
Nevertheless, LA residents can still keep their large capacity magazines as long as they remove them from city limits. “I think it’s more of a people problem rather than a gun problem”, said Mr Cheung, who uses large-capacity gun magazines in various shooting contests.
Krekorian had complained that the proposal had languished before the council’s Public Safety Committee for two years, and he threatened to exercise a rarely used rule to try to force the issue before the full council. But the committee chair, Englander, agreed to waive the committee’s consideration of the ordinance, according to Krekorian aide Ian Thompson.
City Council members, officials and gun safety advocates joined together at City Hall East to stand in support of measures to help end gun violence and tragedies.
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San Francisco and Sunnyvale, Ca. have passed similar regulations and also faced legal challenges from gun groups, who contend such laws are unconstitutional.
