Feb 29, 2008 1:43 pm US/Pacific
47 Killed, 253 Injured By Gunfire In LA This Year
LOS ANGELES
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Eight people were shot at a bus stop in South Los Angeles Feb. 27.
CBS
Since the beginning of 2008, 47 people have been killed and another 253 injured by gunfire in Los Angeles, according to statistics released Friday by the Los Angeles Police Department.
As of last Saturday, 61 homicides had occurred in the city of Los Angeles, more than three-quarters of which involved firearms. Last year, 316 people were killed by guns and 1,905 injured by a firearm, according to the LAPD.
"It's time to act aggressively and creatively with new laws to stop the killing," said City Councilman Jack Weiss, chair of the council's Public Safety Committee.
Members of the Public Safety Committee approved a resolution in support of four proposed state bills.
AB 2602 seeks to regulate the sale of bullets by requiring purchasers to acquire a Handgun Ammunition Purchase Permit from the Department of Justice.
The bill is opposed by Gun Owners of California.
"This bill will do absolutely nothing to curb crime in any way," said the group's executive director, Sam Paredes. "It will only serve to make it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to purchase legal ammunition. This bill is a solution to a non-existing problem."
AB 2235 would require all new handguns sold in California after Jan. 1, 2013, to be manufactured in such a way that they could only be fired only by authorized persons.
AB 2566 reverses the prohibition that prevents communities from requiring a permit or license to purchase, own, possess, keep or carry a firearm.
AB 2696 would improve reporting by mental health facilities prior to the sale of a handgun.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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