Just buy your ammo outside of Sacramento - until this becomes a new state law.
Here's the story:
Hope, doubt collide over city gun rules
Prosecution would be tough, says police chief, but 39 firearm-related killings force action.
By Bobby Caina Calvan - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, August 11, 2007
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B3
Police Chief Albert Nájera had his doubts. Would the city's recent plague of gun violence be cured by new rules seeking to curb the sale of illegal firearms?
Nájera wasn't sure but nevertheless urged the City Council to arm police with additional tools to go after those who sell firearms to gang members, felons and others who police say have no business owning or possessing guns.
The council obliged, voting unanimously Thursday night to require gun owners to report the theft or loss of a firearm within 48 hours -- or face a $500 misdemeanor fine or six months imprisonment for a first offense.
The aim, the police chief said, is to punish unscrupulous gun owners who claim their weapons were lost or stolen -- but in fact knowingly sold them to people who shouldn't have them.
The Police Department is to report back to the City Council about the efficacy of the new laws, and Nájera already has conceded, "Prosecuting (by) using this particular ordinance would be difficult."
The new law takes effect Sept. 8, along with a separate ordinance requiring ammunition dealers to thumb-print and electronically report to police the names and addresses of their customers -- ostensibly to flag ammunition buyers who shouldn't be in possession of a gun.
Amid a spate of gun violence, Sacramento police have been hard pressed to get weapons off the streets.
Last year, 39 of the city's 59 homicides -- two-thirds -- were gun-related, said Sgt. Matt Young, the department's spokesman. "The statistic speaks for itself.
"It's going to be very difficult to quantify any success," Young said Friday. "It's going to be very difficult, but why not give it a try? If it's going to prevent one homicide, it's worth it."
Some critics don't disagree that gun violence is a problem but contend the new rules are unfair to legitimate gun owners.
"As a law-abiding citizen, I don't have anything to hide," said Larry Leidelmeyer, who described himself as a recreational gun owner.
"It's all for the common good, but the approach could be done in better ways," he said.
He and other critics say there aren't enough police patrolling the streets, that existing gun laws aren't being enforced as stringently as they should.
"We've got lots of laws, and we've got lots of guns," said Franklin Zimring, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
"In this case, there are two questions to ask: Should there be accountability in both the sale of handguns and their ammunition -- and the answer is yes, of course. But the second question is how carefully coordinated is this particular regulation?"
Is Sacramento "just making a symbolic statement?" Zimring added.
The Legislature is currently grappling with similar measures that also would require gun owners to report a lost or stolen firearm, and would regulate ammunition to allow better tracking of purchasers.
Sacramento's law would allow police to compare lists generated from sales at the city's eight gun and ammunition dealers against the department's list of those on probation or parole, said Young, the police spokesman.
"People have apprehensions that law-abiding people are going to be targeted or stigmatized," Young said. "We understand people's apprehensions. But it takes only 90 seconds to fill out a form. It makes sense to get that information (about) people buying ammunition for firearms that could hurt our citizens."
Ammunition dealers say customers, law-abiding or not, can easily take their business elsewhere -- outside of city limits or via mail. They claim the new rules will be too bothersome.
Police, however, say it will take dealers scant minutes to record names, addresses and photo identification.
"Is it going to deter crime in the city of Sacramento? I hope so. But to be honest, I don't think so," said gun owner Leidelmeyer.
The sig is just to good, not to be shared
