In response to the mass shooting in Monterey Park that took the lives of 11 people, the Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved a series of motions authored by Board Chair Janice Hahn and Supervisors Hilda Solis and Lindsey Horvath to strengthen gun regulations in Los Angeles County and support gun safety legislation.
“We know that blame for the gun violence epidemic lies with the failure of Congressional leaders to pass even the most basic federal gun laws. Because they have not acted — we have found actions we can take at the county level to protect lives,” Hahn said.
“I intend to do whatever is possible to protect Los Angeles County residents, particularly following the tragedy in the First District community of Monterey Park. Today, living in the United States of America means being at risk of becoming a victim of a mass shooting,” Solis said.
“I’m proud to advance common sense gun safety guidelines and to join my Board colleagues in our continued demand to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines,” Horvath said.
Item 2, authored by Hahn, establishes ordinances to prohibit the sale of .50 caliber firearms and ammunition in the unincorporated areas of the County and prohibit the possession of firearms on County property, with certain exceptions.
Item 8, authored by Solis, directs the County’s Chief Executive Office’s Legislative Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations branch to send a five-signature letter to U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein in support of previous legislation to raise the minimum age to purchase assault weapons from 18 to 21 and ban the sale, transfer, manufacture, and importation of military-style assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and other high-capacity ammunition feeding devices.
Item 15, authored by Horvath, instructs County Counsel to draft an ordinance and report back to the Board of Supervisors on requiring all firearms in a residence be securely stored in a locked container or disabled with trigger lock.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, at press time there have been 54 mass shootings in the United States since the start of the new year 41 days ago. This amounts to almost two mass shooting events a day.