Gun Control In Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas called today for Los Angeles County to do more to regulate the purchase of rapid-fire weapons.

“Much more needs to be done in the face of a deeply troubling and recurring pattern of mass shootings,” Ridley-Thomas said. Previewing a motion he plans to bring before the Board of Supervisors next week, Ridley-Thomas said the county has taken several steps to combat the underlying causes of violence, including creating school threat assessment teams and providing mental health first aid training for community members and county staffers.

He wants the county’s sheriff, district attorney, probation chief, health officials and lawyers to evaluate a number of other options for preventing violence, including expanding gun buy-back programs, requiring additional background checks on guns sold within the county, mandating insurance for gun purchasers to cover tragic outcomes and taxing ammunition and firearms.

“Now is the time to act,” Ridley-Thomas said, pointing to the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal on Monday to hear a Second Amendment challenge to a Highland Park, Illinois, ordinance banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.