Officials plan crackdown on illegal gun transfersBy Alison Shackelford Hewitt
LOS ANGELES Gun owners beware: law enforcement officials want Los Angeles gun users to know that they can be arrested for giving or selling a gun to someone without a legal background check, especially if the gun turns up at a crime scene.
Officials announced Thursday that state and local law enforcement agencies are teaming up to launch a crackdown on illegal gun exchanges.
The effort will begin as a pilot program in two high-crime areas of Los Angeles, around the Los Angeles Police Department's 77th Street station in South Los Angeles, and around the Devonshire station in Northridge.
Anyone who purchases a gun in those areas will now receive a warning letter from City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo's office reminding them that giving the gun to anyone else without submitting a "dealer record of sale" form is illegal.
Police officers at crime scenes find guns that were used by someone other than the registered owner with an alarming frequency, Delgadillo said, meaning that criminals are skirting background-check requirements. The guns were often purchased legally by the original owner before finding their way to the unregistered owner, he added.
"These laws are on the books not to restrict the rights of law-abiding people to own a gun, but to ensure that weapons do not fall into the hands of those who seek to use these weapons for criminal acts," Delgadillo said. "We're not going to reach (gang members) through this letter. But we are going to reach those who they are hiring or engaging to buy these guns for them."
The letter reminding people about the existing state law will go out during the 10 days gun purchasers must wait before they can pick up the gun.
Filling out the gun transfer forms at a licensed gun dealer allows the state to enforce background checks and waiting periods, and protects the previous owner from prosecution if the gun is used by someone else to commit a crime, said Jim McDonnell, a Los Angeles assistant police chief.
Convictions can mean up to a year in prison, Delgadillo said.
Registered owners will not be held responsible if their guns are stolen, as long as they report the theft to police, officials said.
However, even guns passed down because of the death of a family member must be re-registered by the new owner, Delgadillo said.
If the program is successful in the pilot areas, officials said they hope to gain more funding to expand it throughout Los Angeles.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20050811-1803-cnsguns.html.
