LA County Repeals "Saturday Night Special" Law

California Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc.
271 East Imperial Highway, Fullerton, California 92835

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: May 22, 2001
For More Information, Contact: Chuck Michel (310)548-3703

L.A. County Repeals "Saturday Night Special" Law

State Preemption and Technical Problems Cited-
Other Cities to Follow Suit

Los Angeles County- Today the County of Los Angeles joined with Marin County, Sacramento, and the City or West Hollywood in voting to repeal their ban on "Saturday Night Specials" (SNS) in light of preemption conflicts generated by the passage of state handgun regulations. This move serves as a clear signal to other California localities that it is time to repeal similar "Saturday Night Special" laws which unreasonably restrict the sales of certain handguns.

"We`re pleased that the County of Los Angeles has acknowledged the problems with the ordinance, and expect that other cities and counties that have similar ordinances will soon follow suit," said Chuck Michel, a civil rights attorney who represents both the CRPA and NRA. "With the evidence that we have provided, city officials now know that the proponents of these laws have no credibility when it comes to the types of firearms that the ordinance condemns."

California state law now requires that all handguns sold in the state pass through an inspection process that is conducted by the California Department of Justice in order for those firearms to be offered for sale in the state. The various local SNS laws include rosters that identify specific handguns that cannot be sold in the city or county, some of which directly conflict with the approved list being generated by the California Department of Justice. There are approximately 40 other California localities that have SNS ordinances on the books at this time. The CRPA and NRA will continue to work to repeal these laws throughout the state by alerting local officials to the conflicts that the law creates.

Jim Erdman, Executive Director of the California Rifle & Pistol Association pointed out the problems with these firearms laws "The mistake in the ordinance`s definition section that condemned police guns, and the technical misrepresentations made by gun control groups about the construction of the Glock and other polymer framed firearms, vividly illustrates the problems that arise when gun control extremists who are not familiar with firearms engineering draft these laws."

#######