Stupid Laws

The other day in our CCW class we were talking about the idiocy of local ordinances in California that effect gun owners, and CCW holders specifically, since as a group we tend to move around from zip code to zip code during our daily lives.

One of our students brought up the fact that in Reseda you can’t buy a sub-compact pistol.

Ok… in all frankness that was a new one on me so I decided to do a little digging.

Well, true enough in Reseda you are not allowed to purchase, from a licensed dealer an “ultracompact” pistol.  Actually, to be really specific this is less Reseda, as it is the City of Los Angeles which controls Reseda.  Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 55.16 states that “No gun dealer shall process the title of any ultracompact firearm to any person.  A ultracompact shall mean any pistol, revolver or other firearm designed to be concealed which has an overall length of six and three quarters inches (6.75”) or less of an overall height of four and one half inches (4.5”) or less, measured with the magazine detached.”

Huh?

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Ok, two things:

1) Do the geniuses of LA know that a resident of California can go anywhere within California and buy a handgun? A gun store that can sell an “Ultracompact” firearm to a LA City resident is only about 20 minutes away.

2)  What is so uniquely problematic about a gun that is less that 6.75”? 

Ahhh…. they are afraid that the gun might be carried concealed by someone who is not authorized to carry a concealed firearm?  Well… ok, I guess we need to really drill down to the logic then about this law.

Lets pretend that the law is designed to prevent a criminal from possessing a firearm concealed about his person.  Does anyone really think that this municipal code actually prevents this from happening?  Remember… this law does not prohibit a person from carrying concealed.. (there are other laws that do this)… this law prevents what would otherwise be a legal transference of ownership between a gun dealer and a private citizen.

Most criminals don’t go to gun stores to buy their guns.  (They seem to have a tough time passing the background check).

So then what could possibly be the motivation?

Do the political leaders, knowing full well that the criminals possess firearms want to ensure that their victims are disarmed?

We could be cynical and say yes,… but honestly this high level of strategic thinking on the part of LA’s anti gun politicians seems misplaced.

I frankly just don’t think they are that particularly intelligent.

No this law… a law that incidentally has been around since 2001… was designed by the irrational, for the benefit of the overly emotional.

My favorite part while researching this were the preamble “whereas” classes.  (Hint folks:  When you see a law… any law… that has a slew of “whereas” clauses prior the the meat of the law there is a pretty good chance that the law is completely irrational, and the poor slob that got paid to draft it felt that they would need to explain to future generations why the hell this limitation on freedom was necessary in the first place, since a rational person would not see it on its face.)

“Whereas clause number 5:  “Whereas, there is evidence that, in California, persons who are prohibited from the lawful purchase of firearms due the the high risk that they will commit future crimes are more likely to attempt to purchase small, highly concealable handguns than are handgun purchasers in general;…”

Wow.

So let me get this straight:  A person prohibited by law from buying a handgun (any handgun) is likely to use a concealable handgun to engage in future criminal misconduct because hey… he is felon (hence he is not able to buy a gun legally in the first place)… and since what he really wants is buy a small handgun we need to make sure that no one is allowed to buy that… including law abiding citizens.

But, but, but… I thought the attempt by the criminal to buy ANY handgun… regardless of size, would be a criminal act… why do we need a law specifically banning the sale of one particular class of firearm when all firearms are essentially banned to this class of purchaser?

Because it makes people feel good damnit!

That should be all that matters.