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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 1745 (Saturday Night Ordinance)CLERK'S CERTIFICATE I, JEANNE M. LEONCINI, Clerk of the City of San Rafael, and Ex -officio Clerk of the Council of said City, do hereby certify that the foregoing Charter Ordinance No. 1745 entitled: "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL ADDING CHAPTER 8.37 TO THE SAN RAFAEL MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO PROHIBITION OF THE SALE OF SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIALS, ALSO KNOWN AS JUNK GUNS" is a true and correct copy of an Ordinance of said City and was introduced at a REGULAR meeting of the City Council of the City of San Rafael, held on the 15th day of November, 1999, published as required by City Charter in the MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL, a newspaper published in the City of San Rafael, and passed and adopted as an Ordinance of said City at a REGULAR meeting of the City Council of said City held on the 6th day of December, 1999, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Cohen, Heller, Miller, Phillips and Mayor Boro NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None WITNESS my hand and the official seal of the City of San Rafael this 7th day of December, 1999 JE - M. LEONCINI, City Clerk ORDINANCE NO. 1745 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL ADDING CHAPTER 8.37 TO THE SAN RAFAEL MUNCIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO PROHIBITION OF THE SALE OF SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIALS, ALSO KNOWN AS JUNK GUNS. WHEREAS, handguns commonly known as "Saturday Night Specials", or "Junk Guns" are poorly designed and made of inferior materials. Because of their inferior design and construction, these firearms are not reliable for purposes of self-defense or well suited for sporting purposes. As defined in this legislation, Saturday Night Specials are inherently unsafe products; and WHEREAS, Saturday Night Specials are easily concealable and disproportionately used in crimes, particularly those committed by juveniles. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, four of the five handguns most frequently traced to crime scenes in 1995 were Saturday Night Specials; and WHEREAS, the Federal Gun Control Act of 1968 prohibits the importation of poorly made, easily concealable handguns manufactured abroad, but does not prohibit the domestic manufacture of these weapons; and WHEREAS, on August 27, 1999, Governor Davis signed SB 15, establishing safety standards for handguns. However, that law does not become effective until January 1, 2001; and WHEREAS, the City of West Hollywood passed an ordinance banning the sale of Saturday Night Specials in 1996. On September 29, 1998, the California Court of Appeal rejected a legal challenge by the National Rifle Association and others, holding that the ordinance was not preempted by state law or otherwise legally invalid. The California Supreme Court declined to review that decision. As of November 10, 1999, at least 43 California cities and counties had passed similar junk gun sales bans; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to promulgate regulations which will be applied to all existing and future handguns intended to be sold in the City of San Rafael to determine whether such handguns are Saturday Night Specials/Junk Guns, the sale of which would be prohibited. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: DIVISION 1: Chapter 8.37, "Prohibition on Sale of Saturday Night Specials", is hereby added to the San Rafael Municipal Code to read as follows: Chapter 8.37 Prohibition on Sale of Saturday Night Specials Sections: 8.37.010 Purpose and Intent. 8.37.020 Definitions. 8.37.030 Exclusions. 8.37.040 Roster of Saturday Night Specials. 8.37.050 Publication. 8.37.060 Prohibited Activity. 8.37.070 Violations and Penalties. Section 8.37.010. Purpose and Intent. The purpose of this chapter is to ensure the health, safety and general welfare of citizens of the City of San Rafael by eliminating the sale of cheaply made, inadequately designed, and poorly manufactured guns in the City of San Rafael. Section 8.37.020 Definitions. For purposes of this Chapter, the words set forth in this Section shall have the meaning assigned to them unless from the context it appears that a different meaning is intended. A. "Firearm" shall mean any device, designed to be used as a weapon or modified to be used as a weapon, from which a projectile is expelled through a barrel by force of explosion or other means of combustion. B. "Firearms dealer" shall mean any person licensed to sell, lease or transfer firearms pursuant to California Penal Code Section 12071(a)(1). C. Except as provided in Section 8.37.030 herein, the term "Saturday Night Special' (also known as "Junk Gun"), as used in this Chapter, shall mean any of the following: 1. A pistol, revolver, or firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, as those terms are defined in California Penal Code Section 12001(a), which contains a frame, barrel, breechblock, cylinder or slide that is not completely fabricated of heat treated carbon steel, forged alloy or other material of equal or higher tensile strength. 2 2. A semi-automatic pistol which: (a) Is not originally equipped by the manufacturer with a locked - breech action. (b) Is chambered for cartridges developing maximum permissible breech pressures above 24,100 Copper Units of Pressure as standardized by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute. (c) For purpose of this subsection 2, "semi-automatic pistol' shall mean a firearm, as defined in California Penal Code Section 12001(b), which is designed to be held and fired with one hand, and which does the following upon discharge: (i) fires the cartridge in the chamber; (ii) ejects the fired cartridge case; and (iii) loads a cartridge from the magazine into the chamber. "Semi-automatic pistol' shall not include any assault weapon designated in California Penal Code Section 12276. 3. A pistol, revolver, or firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, as those terms are defined in California Penal Code Section 12001(a), which: (a) Uses an action mechanism which is substantially identical in design to any action mechanism manufactured in or before 1898 that was originally chambered for rimfire ammunition developing maximum permissible breech pressures below 19,000 Copper Units of Pressure as standardized by the sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute. (b) Is chambered to fire either centerfire ammunition or rimfire ammunition developing maximum permissible breech pressures above 19,000 Copper Units of Pressure as standardized by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute. (c) Is not originally equipped by the manufacturer with a nondetachable safety guard surrounding the trigger. (d) If rimfire, is equipped with a barrel of less than 20 bore diameters in overall length protruding from the frame. (e) For purpose of this subsection 3, "action mechanism" shall mean the mechanism of a firearm by which it is loaded, locked, fired and unloaded. 4. For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply: (a) Breech — the part of the firearm at the rear of the barrel. 3 (b) Breechblock — the block in a breech -loading firearm that closes the rear of the barrel against the force of the charge and prevents gasses from escaping. (c) Cylinder — the turning chambered breech of a revolver. (d) Forged alloy — alloy shaped by heating and hammering. (e) Firearm frame or receiver — that part of the firearm which provides housing for the hammer, bolt or breechblock, and firing mechanism, and which is usually threaded at its forward portion to receive the barrel. (f) Heat-treated — to treat metal by heating and cooling to improve its qualities, most commonly to increase strength. (g) Tensile strength of heat-treated carbon steel — the known ultimate tensile stress of heat-treated carbon steel (60,000 psi). Section 8.37.030 Exclusions. The term "Saturday Night Special" or "Junk Gun" does not include any of the following: 1. Any pistol which is an antique or relic firearm or other weapon falling within the specifications of paragraphs (5), (7) and (8) of subsection (b) of California Penal Code Section 12020. 2. Any pistol for which the propelling force is classified as pneumatic, that is, of, or related to, compressed air or any other gases not directly produced by combustion. 3. Children's pop guns or toys. 4. An "unconventional pistol" as defined in California Penal Code Section 12020(c)(12). 5. Any pistol which has been modified to either render it permanently inoperable or permanently to make it a device no longer classified as a "Saturday Night Special". Section 8.37.040 Roster of Saturdav Nieht Specials. On or before December 31, 1999, the Police Chief or his/her designee shall compile, publish and thereafter maintain a Roster of Saturday Night Specials. The Roster shall list those firearms, by manufacturer and model number, which the Police Chief or 4 his/her designee determines satisfy the definition of Saturday Night Special set forth in Section 8.37.020. Section 8.37.050 Publication. The Police Chief or his/her designee shall publish the Roster of Saturday Night Specials on a semi-annual basis and shall send a copy of the Roster to every dealer within the City who is licensed to sell and transfer firearms pursuant to Section 12071 of the Penal Code of the State of California. The Police Chief also shall endeavor to send a copy of the Roster to the manufacturer of every firearm on the Roster. Following the December 31, 1999, initial publication of the Roster, the publications shall thereafter be made on an as needed basis when there are either additions or deletions from the Roster. Should there be no changes to the Roster, then the previously designated list shall remain in full force and effect. In addition to sending the Roster to the dealers and endeavoring to send the Roster to every manufacturer of every firearm on the Roster, the Police Chief or his/her designee shall advise the recipient that, within ten (10) days of the written notice of the Roster, the recipient may apply for reconsideration of the firearm as a Saturday Night Special to the Police Chief and/or his/her designee pursuant to the procedure that this City Council establishes by Resolution. That same Resolution shall contain an appeal procedure from any decision of the Police Chief and/or his/her designee to the City Manager. Section 8.37.060 Prohibited Activitv. No firearms dealer shall sell, offer or display for sale, give, lend or transfer ownership of any firearm listed on the Roster of Saturday Night Specials. This section shall not preclude a firearms dealer from processing firearm transactions between unlicensed parties pursuant to Section 12072(d) of the Penal Code of the State of California. This section shall not be enforced until the Roster of Saturday Night Specials has been completed and published in accordance with Sections 8.37.040 and 8.37.050. Section 8.37.070. Violations and Penalties. Any person violating any of the provisions of this Chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine not exceeding Five Hundred Dollars ($500) or by imprisonment not exceeding six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Each person shall be guilty of a separate offense for each and every day or during any portion of which any violation of any provision of this section is committed, continued or permitted by such person. DIVISION 2: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining 5 portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted the Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses *or phrases be declared invalid. DIVISION 3: The City Council finds that the adoption and implementation of this Ordinance are exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act in that the Council finds there is no possibility that the implementation of this Ordinance may have significant effects on the environment. DIVISION 4: This Ordinance shall be published once in full before its final passage in newspaper of general circulation, published, and circulated in the City of San Rafael, and shall be in full force and effect thirty (30) days after its final passage. DIVISION 5. This Ordinance shall be deemed rescinded on the effective date of SB 15, which is set for January 1, 2001. VAL RT J. B, O, Mayor 4 ATTEST: na=A'&- . ANNE M. LEONCINI, City Clerk The foregoing Ordinance No. 1745 was read and introduced at a Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of San Rafael, held on the 15th day of NOVEMBER, 1999 and ordered passed to print by the following vote, to wit: AYES: Councilmembers: Cohen, Heller, Miller, Phillips and Mayor Boro NOES: Councilmembers: None ABSENT: Councilmembers: None 6 and will come up for adoption as an Ordinance of the City of San Rafael at a Regular Meeting of the Council to be held on the 6th day of DECEMBER '1999. Mfk NE M. LEONK, City Clerk 7