3 on Council Seek to Ban Assault-Rifle Sales in City

Prompted by San Diego’s rising homicide rate and increased violence by street gangs, three San Diego City Council members are proposing to ban the sale and possession of semiautomatic weapons such as the AK-47 assault rifle.

In the last two days, council members Judy McCarty, Wes Pratt and Gloria McColl have called for a ban similar to the emergency ordinance approved Tuesday by the Los Angeles City Council.

“As far as I’m concerned, we have an emergency in this city,” said McCarty, the city’s deputy mayor. “Our homicide rate is going up and we have these gang problems and something has got to be done. These guns are more sophisticated than our police have. They are unnecessary for the sportsman, for the target shooter.”

The city’s homicide rate rose by 50%, to 144, last year. Powerful semi-automatic weapons are increasingly used by gang members, and an AK-47 assault rifle was used by a gunman last month to kill five schoolchildren in an attack on a Stockton elementary school.

Weapons Defined

In the Los Angeles ordinance, which Pratt and McCarty want to use as a model for the local legislation, a semiautomatic weapon is described as one with a magazine capable of holding at least 20 bullets that can be fired rapidly by repeatedly squeezing the trigger. The ordinance specifically bans AK-47, AR-15 and Uzi assault weapons. The San Diego City Council last week endorsed state legislation to ban the weapons, but the three council members now favor the added protection of a local ordinance.

“I think this is another way of protecting our citizens and sending a stronger message to Sacramento, because there is heavy lobbying” for and against the statewide measure, McColl said.

Pratt promised to have a draft ordinance ready for Monday’s council meeting. The measure would be referred to the council’s Rules Committee for discussion Wednesday. McCarty wants to send a version directly to the Rules Committee.

McColl, meanwhile, has asked City Manager John Lockwood and City Atty. John Witt to write a plan for consideration at Wednesday’s meeting of the council’s Public Services and Safety Committee, which she heads. Pratt and McCarty are also members of that committee.

All three said they expect a heavy turnout from supporters and opponents whenever the issue is discussed.