Atty. Gen. Files Brief Opposing Handgun Ban

The state attorney general’s office has concluded that West Hollywood’s groundbreaking ban on so-called Saturday night specials should be overturned by the courts because it directly conflicts with California’s authority to regulate firearms.

While reiterating the attorney general’s opinions in other cases involving the sale of firearms and ammunition, the 14-page legal brief marks the first time the office has weighed in on the long-standing legal battle over West Hollywood’s gun ordinance--one that has been used as a model by about 30 cities and counties statewide.

Last December, a Los Angeles judge dismissed a lawsuit by the California Rifle and Pistol Assn. challenging the city’s ordinance. The organization, joined by other groups, including the National Rifle Assn., sought a court order blocking the ordinance, which makes it a misdemeanor to sell any of a number of cheap handguns.

But the judge’s ruling has been appealed by the gun groups and is now before the 2nd District Court of Appeal, which the attorney general’s office hopes will overturn West Hollywood’s law.

“The attorney general is telling the court that state law is very clear that local ordinances banning or regulating . . . firearms cannot be enacted by local law,” Rob Stutzman, press secretary to Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren, said late Friday.

Attorney Chuck Michel, representing the rifle and pistol association, called the attorney general’s action significant.

“The attorney general’s office knows more about guns and gun regulation than any other agency in this state. They have the experts and the experience and the knowledge, intimate knowledge, of the entire statutory regulatory scheme,” Michel said. “And they are saying that based on [their] knowledge, the West Hollywood . . . ordinance interferes with the statewide regulatory scheme and . . . is preempted and illegal.”

But West Hollywood’s attorney, Sayre Weaver, discounted the significance of the attorney general’s action, noting that it is a position long held by that office and already rejected by the trial court.

“And what I find interesting is that it is a position that is, at least politically, contrary to the position taken by the California Police Chiefs Assn., which is highly in support of this legislation . . . [and] a model throughout the state,” Weaver said.

West Hollywood’s law, which took effect early last year, calls for fines of up to $1,000 and six months in jail for those who sell the handguns despite the ban. Other cities with similar regulations include Los Angeles.