Supported by
Los Angeles Council Passes Ban on High-Capacity Firearm Magazines
LOS ANGELES — Responding to the recent rash of mass shootings across the country, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted on Tuesday to ban the possession of firearm magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
The Council said the ordinance would close a loophole in a state law, which already bans the sale and manufacture of such magazines. Mayor Eric Garcetti said he would sign the ordinance.
Anyone who already owns high-capacity magazines will have 60 days to remove them from the city or turn them over to the Police Department, which will then destroy, transfer or sell them.
New York State passed a similar law in 2013 shortly after the shootings in Newtown, Conn., in which 20 children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School were killed.
Backers of the Los Angeles measure argued that it would help law enforcement officials prevent mass shootings by allowing them to seize high-capacity magazines found in the city.
“Mass shootings have become so endemic that we can all recite a litany of places where they have occurred: Columbine, Isla Vista, Chattanooga — they’ve become part of lexicon,” said Paul Krekorian, the Council member who wrote the measure. “We’ve become desperate to find some solution to the destabilizing effect of the fact that we have to fear these sorts of mass killings.”
Gun rights groups, including the National Rifle Association, have said they are likely to bring legal challenges against the measure, which they say violates the Second Amendment and is pre-empted by state law. The law is modeled on ordinances in San Francisco and Sunnyvale that have been upheld by courts.
Gun rights groups also say the ordinance would have little effect on gun violence in the region because neighboring cities have no such bans.
Anna Barvir, a lawyer who represents the N.R.A. and the California Rifle & Pistol Association, said magazines with more than 10 rounds “are in common use for self-defense and are overwhelmingly chosen for that reason.”
“Millions are in the hands of good American citizens,” she said.
The law exempts on-duty police officers, members of the military who are issued such magazines, firearms dealers and people who more than 15 years ago obtained guns that can be used only with high-capacity magazines.
Mr. Krekorian also wrote an ordinance requiring that guns be kept in lockboxes or disabled with trigger locks. That measure is expected to be voted on next week. The Council is also considering an amendment to exempt retired law enforcement officers from both ordinances, a move opposed by gun control advocates.
Mike McLively, a staff lawyer with the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said he hoped the law would have a ripple effect.
“This is the very kind of ammunition that allows more fatalities in a shorter time,” Mr. McLively said. “Local governments are saying we need to do everything we can to reduce mass shootings that we’re seeing with more and more frequency.”
Gun Violence in America
A Grieving Mother’s Hope: Katy Dieckhaus, whose daughter was killed in the 2023 Covent School shooting in Nashville, is pleading for compromise with those who see gun rights as sacred.
A Historic Case: On Feb. 6, an American jury convicted a parent for a mass shooting carried out by their child for the first time. Lisa Miller, a reporter who has been following the case since its beginning, explains what the verdict really means.
Echoing Through School Grounds: In a Rhode Island city, gunshots from AR-15-style weapons have become the daily soundtrack for a school within 500 yards of a police shooting range. Parents are terrified, and children have grown accustomed to the threat of violence.
The Emotional Toll: We asked Times readers how the threat of gun violence has affected the way they lead their lives. Here’s what they told us.
Gun Control: U.S. gun laws are at the center of heated exchanges between those in favor and against tougher regulations. Here’s what to know about that debate.
Advertisement