In the wake of the Monterey Park shooting that killed 11 people, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed two gun control regulations this week that will apply to unincorporated parts of the county if they move forward. The board is also exploring the legality of several other proposed measures in the coming months.
On Tuesday, the board voted to:
The ordinances only apply to unincorporated parts of the county, like Rowland Heights, East Los Angeles, and other areas of the county that aren’t their own cities. The measures are set to go into effect 30 days after a second hearing, but it’s very likely they’ll face legal challenges, said Adam Winkler, a professor of law at the University of California Los Angeles.
“Gun rights advocates are very incentivized to bring challenges to gun laws,” Winkler said. “The Supreme Court has raised the bar for any gun violence prevention law to be constitutional.”
The Supreme Court last year ruled to overturn a 100-year-old law in New York that restricted carrying concealed guns in public. L.A. County supervisors on Tuesday acknowledged the recent court decision, and have asked county attorneys to report back on other proposed measures.
More action on tightening local gun laws could be coming. Over the next several weeks, the board is looking into regulations that would:
The proposed measures come after a June motion that called for more gun regulations in the county after the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
“I did not imagine then when it came time to implement those regulations, we would be in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in Los Angeles County's history. But here we are facing a gun violence epidemic that continues to devastate our communities,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn.
