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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 06061995 - 1.101 o Pimnole C2 . 2131 Pear Street Pinole, CA 94564 (510) 724-9000 RECEIVED FO MAY 2 219% CLERK BOARD OF SUPERVISORS CONTRA COSTA CO. May 19, 1995 Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors County Administration Building 651 Pine Street, Room 106 Martinez, CA 94553 RE: Opposing the Weakening of Semiautomatic Assault Weapons Ban Dear Board of Supervisors : On behalf of the City Council of the City of Pinole please accept the enclosed Resolution which was adopted at- the May lst Council meeting in opposition to the weakening of Semiautomatic Assault Weapons Ban. Thank you for your consideration in this matter. Cordially, Dawn Jarrell Deputy City Clerk Enclosure BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PINOLE COUNTY OF CONTRA COSTA, STATE OF CALIFORNIA ****************************** In the Matter of Opposing the ) Weakening of Semiautomatic Assault ) RESOLUTION NO. 3142 Weapons Ban ) WHEREAS, on July 18, 1984, James Oliver Huberty walked into a McDonald's restaurant in San Ysidro, California, fired 245 bullets from a 9 millimeter Uzi semiautomatic pistol and fired another 12 shells from a 12 gauge shotgun, gunning down 40 persons and killing 21 before being killed by law enforcement personnel; and WHEREAS, on January 17, 1989, Patrick Purdy walked onto the grounds of Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, California, and opened fire on nearly 400 students who were outside during recess with an AK-47 semiautomatic rifle and 9 millimeter Taurus handgun, discharged a 100-round and 30-round "banana clip" and took his own life after killing children and wounding 30 others; and WHEREAS, in response to those and other slaughters, in 1989 California enacted the Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act restricting the sale, manufacture, distribution, transport, import, possession and lending of certain semiautomatic assault weapons in California; and WHEREAS, the Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 effectively stabilized the number of crimes involving semiautomatic assault weapons in California while they soared nationally; and WHEREAS, despite the fact that the Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 authorizes the California Department of Justice to add semiautomatic assault weapons to the list of banned weapons, the California Department of Justice has been embroiled in an ongoing court action regarding its authority to add semiautomatic assault weapons to the list of restricted weapons, and, as a result, the Attorney General has been enjoined from adding any new weapons to the list; and WHEREAS, because of the court injunction, semiautomatic assault weapon manufacturers were free to market "copycat" weapons by renaming assault weapons restricted under California law and making cosmetic changes in their design; and WHEREAS, the manufacturers of the TEC-9, a semiautomatic assault weapon banned under California law, were able to market and sell on almost identical weapon, the TEC-DC9, because of the court injunction against the Attorney General; and WHEREAS, on July 1, 1993, Gian Luigi Ferri murdered eight persons and wounded six others at the offices of the Pettit & Martin law firm in San Francisco, California, before he took his own life using a TEC-DC9 assault pistol legally purchased in Nevada and capable of firing more than 50 rounds before reloading; and WHEREAS, on February 22, 1994 , Los Angeles police officer Christy Lynne Hamilton was slain with an AR-15 military- style assault weapon by 17-year-old Christopher Golly, who moments earlier had killed his father and who later shot himself to death after a dispute over loud music; and WHEREAS, The Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 has been circumvented by manufacturers of semiautomatic assault weapons; and RESOLUTION NO. 3142 Page Two WHEREAS, Subtitle A of Title XI of the recently enacted federal Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act, employs an objective, "generic" definition of semiautomatic assault weapons; and WHEREAS, the "generic" definition of semiautomatic assault weapons in the federal law prevents semiautomatic assault weapon manufacturers from circumventing the law by selling "copycat" weapons; and WHEREAS, California Law does not limit the capacity of ammunition magazines; and WHEREAS, the federal law bans large ammunition magazines capable of feeding more than 10 rounds of ammunition at a time, thus limiting the destructive capability of potential killers; and WHEREAS, the federal Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act prohibits the sale and manufacture of semiautomatic assault weapons throughout the United States, thereby reducing the likelihood of those weapons being transported into California from nearby states that did not restrict the sale of semiautomatic assault weapons prior to the enactment of the federal law; and WHEREAS, semiautomatic assault weapons designed for military combat have no legitimate sporting purpose and pose a direct and mortal threat to the safety of innocent civilians; and WHEREAS, gun violence continues to plague our society; and WHEREAS, we cannot afford to turn back the clock on the advances in public safety achieved by Congress; and WHEREAS, gun violence costs California billions of dollars annually in medical expenses, lost worker productivity, additional school safety expenditures, increased business costs, and lost tourism; and WHEREAS, the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act significantly strengthened public safety in California through an improved statutory definition of semiautomatic assault weapons, limits on ammunition magazine capacities, and its prohibition of the sale and manufacture of semiautomatic assault weapons throughout the nation. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Pinole, State of California, in expressing its grave concern for the health and safety of Californians and persons visiting this state, hereby memorializes the President and the Congress of the United States not to jeopardize the public health and safety by repealing or otherwise weakening Subtitle A of Title XI of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 , the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Clerk of Pinole transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States and to the Board of Supervisors and City Councils of Contra Costa County. RESOLUTION NO. 3142 Page Three PASSED AND ADOPTED this 1st day of May, 1995, by the following vote: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Alegria, Boyle & Murray NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Bradshaw ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSTAIN: COUNCILMEMBERS: Horton CGu�L DAWN JARRELL DEPUTY CITY CLERK of the City of Pinole d:\admin\reso\semiaut.res