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DISCLAIMER:  The following message is a _cross-post_ from another venue,
forwarded to the group strictly for informational purposes and general
discussion.  I DID NOT WRITE THIS MESSAGE and am not responsible for its
contents or accuracy, nor can I provide any further information concern-
ing the issues it addresses.  Those wishing to know more are advised to
contact the originator whose netmail address is included. -- John Erland
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* Forwarded by John Erland (1:203/8055.12)
* From : wapette@usa.pipeline.com, (10 Jul 96 02:36)
* Subj : Bay Area Gun Ban
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ALAMEDA TIMES-STAR   JULY 9, 1996 
by Brain Caulfield, Staff Writer 
OAKLAND--  Nine East Bay mayors Monday announced a joint effort 
to tightly regulate local gun sales and fight off any legal challenges. 
During a press conference at Children's Hospital Oakland, 
Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris said that by acting together cities can 
send a message to the gun lobby and state and federal officials 
that new gun laws are needed. 
"Politicians at the state and federal level, quite frankly, 
are afraid of the gun lobby", Harris said. 
The mayors are backing various new local regulations they say will
reduce gun violence. The proposed laws include a ban on sales of junk
guns and guns in residential areas, a tax on everything sold at stores
that carry guns, and requirements at the point of sale for trigger
locks.  Steve Helsley, state liaison for the National Rifle Association,
said banning the sale of junk guns, also known as Saturday Night
Specials, is illegal, and the other proposed restrictions will not
reduce crime. "I think this whole drill is vacuous, their proposal won't
do a thing to fight crime, it is all feel good stuff," he said.
The NRA is challenging a West Hollywood ban on the sale of junk guns 
enacted in February.  But Alameda, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, Union
City, El Cerrito, Pinole, San Pablo and Richmond are going ahead with
plans to ban sales of Saturday Night Specials. The Oakland City Council
unanimously passed a ban earlier this year, and San Francisco has a
similar ban.  Berkeley Mayor Shirley Dean said at least nine East Bay
cities are working on an agreement to contribute up to $5,000 each to
defend the ban on sales of junk guns if it is challenged in court.
Between 1991 and 1993, six out of every eight homicides in Alameda
County involved a firearm, according to the Alameda County Injury
Prevention Program.  Firearm homicide rates were highest for those
between 20 and 24 years old, the study found.  Sherman Spears said he
knows first hand that cheap, easily accessible weapons are involved in
many of these shootings. Spears, 26, is the director of Oakland-based
Teens on Target, which teaches alternatives to violence. He was
permanently disabled in 1989 after he was shot in the head, neck and
chest by two 18-year olds. They had purchased a gun just hours after a
dispute with a friend of Spears, he said.  He said the shooting was a
personal conflict that went too far.  "If it was not possible to have
a gun so readily available maybe they could have cooled off",  said
Spears, who uses a wheelchair. "To be 18 and to be able to put your
hands on a gun, I think that is an issue we need to address."
In San Francisco, the federal ban on handgun possession by juveniles was
upheld Monday in the first federal appellate court ruling on the law.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the argument that the law
is unconstitutional because Congress doesn't have the authority to
regulate what is purely a local activity.  The law, part of the 1994
crime bill, prohibits juveniles from knowingly possessing handguns or
handgun ammunition, and also bans the sale or transfer of handgun
ammunition to juveniles. It exempts hunting, target practice, use in
farm employment and self-defense against intruders.
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