Mixer: Guns in the crosshairs

In a unanimous vote this week, the Los Angeles City Council approved a measure that would require handguns be stored in locked containers or disabled with a trigger lock.

Councilman Paul Krekorian, who authored the measure, says the law is all about preventing children from unintentionally harming themselves or others.

“There are more preschoolers killed with guns in this country than police officers killed by guns,” Krekorian said.

He added, “Almost all of those are avoidable if guns are simply stored properly locked up and children are prevented from having access to them.”

Even though the handguns must be disabled or locked away, the law will also allow the weapons to be carried by the owner or any authorized person over the age of 18, or within close enough proximity that the gun is in their control.

Those allowances take into account situations such as when a person is cleaning a gun, or when a police officer needs to carry guns around the house for some reason.

Mayor Eric Garcetti has indicated that he will sign it, in which case it would take effect a month later.

Earlier this year, Garcetti signed another ordinance that restricts the amount of ammunition in high-capacity magazines.

The National Rife Association and other gun rights activists filed suit last week to overturn it – in an interesting way, and avoiding the usual Second Amendment arguments.

Emily Alpert Reyes is City Hall reporter for the Los Angeles Times, and Andrew Blankstein is with NBC News – he’s covered crime and crime policy in this city for years.

Both joined us for this week’s Mixer.