LOS ANGELES - At an Aug. 7 ceremony attended by gun violence survivors, families of victims and gun safety advocacy organizations, Councilmember Paul Krekorian joined Mayor Eric Garcetti as he signed Krekorians law banning the possession of large-capacity ammunition magazines in the City of Los Angeles. With the Mayors signature, Krekorians law will go into effect in 30 days, making it a misdemeanor to possess large-capacity magazines that carry more than 10 rounds. LA residents who have such magazines will have a 60 days after the law takes effect to dispose of them, turn them over to the LAPD or legally sell them.Along with Mayor Garcetti and Councilmember Krekorian, speakers included Josh Stepakoff, a survivor of the 1999 North Valley Jewish Community Center shooting and Women Against Gun Violence Board Director, and Suzanne Verge, Los Angeles Chapter President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
I am committed to reducing the gun violence in our city, said Mayor Eric Garcetti. This ban is part of that larger effort. It will help keep our streets safer and help prevent the magnitude of mass shootings. We are sending a clear message - we will not wait for Washington to act, we are ready to act now.
Los Angeles is now the largest city in California to ban the possession of large-capacity magazines, said Councilmember Krekorian, the author of the ban. These magazines may not be the cause of gun violence, but when shooters use them, tragedies turn into massacres. I introduced this legislation just one month after Sandy Hook because I believe that elected officials at all levels have an obligation to do everything we can to prevent mass shootings from taking innocent lives. More than two years later, Im proud that LA has acted, even as Congressional leaders shamefully sit on their hands. Our city is now at the forefront of the national dialog on how to promote gun safety and prevent gun violence, and I urge other cities, states, and the federal government to join us.
For 15 years, California state law has prohibited the sale, purchase and importing of large-capacity magazines, however, it does not ban their possession. Krekorians law closes this loophole and will make children and families safer in their homes, schools and around the city. It is similar to laws passed in San Francisco and Sunnyvale, Calif., which survived legal challenge by the NRA at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
More than 50% of all mass shooting crimeslike those in Sandy Hook, Aurora, Colo., Isla Vista, Columbine and recently in Chattanooga and Lafayetteare committed with guns that have high-capacity magazines. A large capacity magazine was used by the shooter in the 1999 North Valley Jewish Community Center shooting in the San Fernando Valley.
"The City of Los Angeles is taking a courageous step today and we have that courage because of our leaders, law enforcement, coalition partners and victims and survivors who get up every day and have the courage to fight for what is right and our rightthe freedom to live in a society free of gun violence," said Suzanne Verge, President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
Organizations who worked with Krekorian to support the legislation include:
Women Against Gun Violence
California Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles
California Chapter of the National Organization for Women
Los Angeles Drugs and Alcohol Policy Alliance
Alcohol Justice
International Health and Epidemiology Research Center
Temple Isaiah Gun Legislation Action Committee