Petition aims to ban semiautomatic and automatic weapons from Huntington Beach

A longtime Huntington Beach resident is circulating a petition that seeks to ban semiautomatic and automatic guns in the city, contending such weapons are a “clear and imminent danger to the community.�

Dan Horgan, a local real estate agent and mortgage broker, said in an interview Thursday that he is tired of hearing about shootings involving such weapons “over and over and over.�

“I see this as getting worse, not better,� Horgan said. “I can let it bother me or I can do something about it. … These assault rifles don’t have any place in modern society, in my opinion.�

Horgan’s proposed law would make possession and sale of semiautomatic and automatic firearms in Huntington Beach a felony by April 1, 2019. Such weapons already in circulation would have to be surrendered to the Police Department by Jan. 1, though there would be a three-month probationary period to comply.

Horgan’s Committee to Reduce Gun Violence needs about 12,000 signatures from Huntington Beach registered voters by June 2 for the measure to qualify for the Nov. 6 election ballot, City Clerk Robin Estanislau said.

Horgan, a Huntington Beach resident since 1984, filed a notice of intent to circulate the petition in November. He said Thursday that he is “quite a ways away� from the 12,000-signature goal and has been getting the word out mainly via direct mailers.

“All I’m interested in here is helping stem the flow of these guns,� he said. “We’re at war. This is going to keep happening.�

Horgan’s petition has caught the attention of the California Rifle & Pistol Assn., a Fullerton-based gun-rights advocacy group.

In a post on its website, the association called the proposal “plainly unconstitutional� and part of an effort by “anti-gun proponents� to “eviscerate the Second Amendment [to the U.S. Constitution] in California.�

“Our members should be aware that at this stage in the process, there is nothing that can be done to legally challenge the petition,� the group stated. “But rest assured, [National Rife Assn.] and CRPA attorneys are watching and will be ready to file suit if necessary to stop this unconstitutional proposal from taking effect.�

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Twitter: @BradleyZint