Officials Join Effort to Ban Cheap Handguns
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U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, who is sponsoring legislation that would place controls on the manufacture of cheap handguns, gained the support of three members of the Long Beach City Council.
Council members Alan Lowenthal, Delano Roosevelt and Doris Topsy-Elvord joined the California Democrat in calling for tighter controls on so-called “Saturday night specials” during a news conference at St. Mary Medical Center in downtown Long Beach.
The medical center treated 101 victims of gunshot wounds last year, more than any other hospital in the city. Hospital research shows that 89% of the gunshot victims are under 26 and that about one-quarter die from their wounds.
Lowenthal, a member of a coalition of elected officials called the Alliance Against Junk Guns, is the author of an ordinance being considered by the City Council that would restrict the sale of the cheap handguns in Long Beach. Similar restrictions have been enacted in 26 other cities in California.
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