Pledging to introduce new laws to stop illegal gun dealing and prevent violent crime, City Councilman Jack Weiss today released statistics on gun violence in Los Angeles. “It’s time to act aggressively and creatively with new laws to stop the killing," Weiss said in a statement.

As provided by the LAPD, here's the data for 2007:

• Gunshot victims 1,905; Gang related gunshot victims 1,323
• Total homicides 394; 80% of all homicides involved the use of a firearm (316)
• 220 gang related homicides; 150 homicide victims ages 18 - 25

Data for 2008 as of February 23, 2008

• Gunshot victims 253; Gang related gunshot victims 165
• Total homicides 61; 77% of homicides involved the use of a firearm (47)
• 21 gang related homicides; 18 homicide victims ages 18 - 25

The statistics were released at a hearing of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee who also recently passed a resolution in support of four new state bills:

• AB 2062 (De Leon) -- Regulate ammunition
• AB 2235 (DeSaulnier): Require owner authentication
• AB 2566 (Hancock): remove state preemptions of local gun laws
• AB 2696 (Krekorian): And to improve reporting by mental health facilities

Photo by RossinaBossioB via Flickr