Gun owners would be required to store unused firearms in locked containers or apply their trigger locks, and ammunition sales would be tracked electronically, under a pair of proposals scheduled to go before the City Council Tuesday.
The 15-member panel will decide whether to prepare an ordinance — modeled after a 2007 law adopted in San Francisco — that would require gun owners to store away or disable their weapons when they are not in use.
If the council approves the motion, the City Attorney’s Office will draft the ordinance and bring it back to the council for a final vote.
Proponents of the idea say that while the state requires guns to come with safety locks, there is no requirement for owners to actually use them while the weapons are not in use, or to store the weapons in locked containers.
San Francisco’s gun storage ordinance has withstood a challenge in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, city officials said.
The City Council will also consider a proposal requiring gun stores to transmit their ammunition sales records to the city via an online form.
Ammunition dealers are required to keep their sale records for at least two years, and do not need to turn them in unless requested by police. The police department collects hundreds of pages of purchase records in hard copy, which officials say are time-consuming to search through when determining “whether or not any of the buyers are prohibited from possessing ammunition.”
If approved by the council, the measure would make it a misdemeanor crime if retailers fail to comply with the reporting requirements.
Sacramento adopted a similar ammunition reporting law that has been upheld, according to city officials.
Police officials told the Public Safety Committee earlier this month they are ready to implement the electronic reporting system, thanks to a test run at gun shops in the San Fernando Valley. Ammunition dealers would be able to fill out a form at lapdonline.org to submit their ammunition records to the city.
Councilman Paul Krekorian, who helped author both measures, said the motivation “boils down to safety.”
“Requiring gun owners to lock up their firearms and store them responsibly will prevent needless accidents and tragedies,” he said. “And requiring electronic reporting of ammunition sold in the city will let the police cross-check sale records against databases of people who are prohibited from purchasing it.
“These are simple and sensible steps that will keep people safe,” he said.
— City News Service