Yaroslavsky Press Releases

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August 15, 1997

YAROSLAVSKY, BLOCK HAIL INITIAL SUCCESS OF COUNTY GUN DEALER LICENSING ORDINANCE

Board of Supervisors Chairman Zev Yaroslavsky and Sheriff Sherman Block today hailed the initial success of LA County’s gun-dealer licensing ordinance, which became effective earlier this year as one of the first such local ordinances in the nation.

Citing information provided by the Sheriff’s Department - which is responsible for enforcing the measure - Yaroslavsky said that at least 60, nearly one-third of the 182 unincorporated-area Federal Firearms Licensees who lacked the requisite County dealer license, have instead relinquished their federal permits and given up selling guns when informed by County officials of the new law.

“Most if not all of those licensees were the “kitchen-table” type dealers selling out of their garages or cars,” Yaroslavsky noted, “because commercial gun shops probably had their County dealer’s license already.” Of the 23 County-licensed FFLs, Yaroslavsky said that 15 have now complied with County liability requirements, while the remaining eight either lost their permits or are appealing the issue.

Yaroslavsky also praised the Sheriff’s Department for their prompt and vigorous enforcement policy. “Our success with this ordinance is due in no small measure to the Sheriff’s iron-clad commitment to making it work,” Yaroslavsky said.

Said Sheriff Block of the effort, “Not only has this enforcement tool helped make our community safer, it has also helped focus additional attention on the issue of child safety.”

Noting a recent announcement by Smith & Wesson, Block added that “Although the ordinance requires that each handgun sold be equipped or provided with a trigger-locking device, it is even more encouraging to see a major manufacturer has recognized the positive aspects of this provision and is now voluntarily equipping each handgun it sells with a trigger-locking device.”

The Board approved Yaroslavsky’s gun-dealer ordinance in March 1997, as part of a comprehensive package of four motions addressing handgun violence. The other three measures sought to prohibit the sale of new Saturday Night Special-type junk guns, to seek expanded local authority from the state to regulate handguns, and to study the relationship between gun violence, substance abuse and other social pathologies.