After a series of shootings, the LA County Board of Supervisors is considering stricter gun regulations

LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Following the recent spate of deadly mass shootings across the state, members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday considered new legislation that would tighten the sale and possession of guns in unincorporated areas.

“Too many people have lost loved ones to gun violence in Los Angeles County,” said Supervisors Janice Hahn and Hilda Solis in the application. “We must be united in our fight against gun violence, and improving local regulations is an important part of that fight.”

The motion states that firearms are the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in the United States. It also mentions the January 21 killing of 11 people in a shooting at a dance studio in Monterey Park, the deadliest mass shooting in the county’s history.

The motion would prohibit the sale of handguns or ammunition .50 caliber or larger, or the carrying of firearms except by chartered officers, on county properties such as parks. Anyone under the age of 21 would not enter gun showrooms, and dealers would have to have video cameras installed to record all dealings. It would also require “buffer zones” between gun shops and “sensitive areas” such as schools.

The board also proposes requiring gun sellers to keep a book of local gun sales along with buyers’ fingerprints, and to keep all privately owned firearms locked away.

The board supported most of the measures over the past year, directing its attorneys to draft the regulations and bring them back for a vote. The proposals came as a result of a study previously requested by the board into possible local gun control measures that could be enacted at the county level.

Solis and Hahn also proposed that the board support Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California’s motion to reinstate the 10-year national ban on assault rifles. The law would prohibit the sale of such high-capacity firearms and magazines to anyone under the age of 21.

Sam Paredes, executive director of the California Gunowners’ Association, said he was skeptical the Feinstein measure would happen.

“Ms. Feinstein has been in the Senate for a long time,” he said. “She resubmits the same measure in every session. I don’t think it will pass the Senate. She certainly won’t make it through the house.”