About Junk Gun Controls

"Saturday Night Specials", or "junk guns" are cheap, poorly manufactured weapons that are easily concealed due to their small size. These short-barreled handguns are disproportionately represented in homicides and other crimes. In fact, in 1993, junk guns constituted 8 out of 10 of the guns most frequently confiscated by police in California. They generally lack any sporting purpose and have been banned from import into the U.S. since 1968. However, since the date of the import ban, domestic production of junk guns has increased. Today, 90% of junk guns available in the nation are manufactured in the state of California. In addition, junk guns are so poorly designed for modern ammunition that users are frequently injured.

The Bay Area public overwhelmingly supports a ban on the sale of junk guns and many jurisdictions in the Bay Area are currently contemplating or have adopted ordinances banning their sale. In support of junk gun regulation, mayors of 20 East Bay cities met on May 20, 1996 at the request of Mayor Shirley Dean of Berkeley and Mayor Elihu Harris of Oakland to discuss passing ordinances at the same time in order to aid each other's efforts to control these dangerous weapons.

The Association of Bay Area Governments strongly supports and encourages efforts by Bay Area local governments to ensure consistency and uniformity in the adoption and enforcement of these ordinances.

July 31, 1996

BERKELEY MAYOR SHIRLEY DEAN SPEAKS OUT ON BAY AREA GUN CONTROLS

At the July 18, 1996 ABAG Executive Board Meeting, Mayor Shirley Dean, City of Berkeley, reported on the progress East Bay Mayors have made to date on their effort to control the sale of junk guns. Following her presentation, the Board passed Resolution 11-96 , expressing the Board's endorsement of these junk gun bans and urging efforts by Bay Area local governments to ensure consistency and uniformity in the adoption and enforcement of these ordinances.

Hear Mayor Shirley Dean's speech on junk gun controls in the Bay Area. One of the purposes of this presentation is to showcase possibilities for using audio to transmit information. In its present form, the presentation requires a 28.8 kbps modem and either the Real Audio Player or Shockwave with streaming audio.

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