Gun Control

I am proud to have introduced the Saturday Night Special Ordinance in May, 1996, which was passed unanimously by the Council. This law bans the sale of junk guns, poorly made, cheap guns which have been easy to get. They are used disproportionately in crimes, and cause a lot of heartache for the victims, usually family members caught up in the violence. As of now, the Saturday Nite Special Ordinance is fully implemented and the police are enforcing it.

The Gross Sales Receipts Tax which I initiated, was passed unanimously by the Council. This is a tax on all guns and ammunition sold in Oakland. Enactment has been delayed due to passage of Prop. 218 which requires that it be ratified by the voters. We have the Gross Sales Reciepts tax lined up to be on first municipal election in 1998. I hope all our supporters will work hard to pass it.

We are still working to coordinate the East Bay Public Safety Corridor (EBPSC) to make sure gun control spreads region wide. Several bills have been introduced at the state level to tighten up gun sales, making sure better ID is required, cracking down on fake driver licenses.

I was delighted to hear President Clinton in his State of the Union address endorse a law requiring all weapons to be equipped with a trigger lock or similar device to prevent accidental shootings and unauthorized use of firearms. These simple, inexpensive devices will help prevent thousands of tragic and unnecessary shootings every year. I am happy to have presented and passed a law requiring this in Oakland.

I am equally encouraged by the adoption of this trigger-lock requirement in cities and counties throughout the Bay Area under the leadership of the East Bay Public Safety Corridor and its chair, Mayor Shirley Dean of Berkeley. I am also pleased that the City of Oakland has instructed its lobbyist in Sacramento and Washington DC to push hard for passage of a trigger-lock requirement at both the State and Federal level.

I will continue to work with the Corridor, legislators from around the region, and with Senator Barbara Boxer and the Alliance Against Junk Guns, which she chairs, to develop and pass into law, simple, common sense measures that can help reduce the staggering toll gun violence has wrought on all our communities.

Crime rates, especially those for violent crime have been consistently dropping over the last several years, both here in Oakland and throughout the country. One of the main reasons often cited by police chiefs for this drop is the passage and enforcement of new gun control laws. I will continue to push for action at all levels of government to get guns off our streets and make our communities safer.