
The original contains typos or other errors. These are marked [sic].

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
FREMONT CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, OCTOBER 22, 1996
CITY GOVERNMENT BUILDING, 7:00 PM

5. Scheduled Items

5.3 ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE SALE OF "SATURDAY NIGHT 
SPECIALS," ALSO KNOWN AS "JUNK GUNS" AND REQUIRED "TRIGGER 
LOCKS."  PROPOSED ADDITIONS TO THE FREMONT MUNICIPAL CODE 
(Craig Steckler, 7906810 - page 10)

ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE SALE OF "SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIALS," 
ALSO KNOWN AS "JUNK GUNS" AND REQUIRED "TRIGGER LOCKS." 
PROPOSED ADDITIONS TO THE FREMONT MUNICIPAL CODE (Craig 
Steckler, 790-6810)

Executive Summary: The proposed ordinance relating to the 
sale of "Junk Guns" would prohibit all sales of "Saturday 
Night Specials," also known as "Junk Guns." The proposed
addition to the Fremont Municipal Code would require that a 
"Trigger Lock," or a similar device, designed to prevent the 
unintentional discharge of a firearm, be sold or provided 
with every firearm at the point of sale within the city 
limits of Fremont.

In 1995, in Fremont, two people were murdered and three 
people were victims of attempted murder with firearms. There 
were 174 cases of Assault with a Deadly Weapon, 11 involved
handguns. There were 32 reported cases of Discharging a 
Firearm at an inhabited dwelling or occupied building or 
vehicle; 19 of these cases involved the use of a handgun.

BACKGROUND: On May 19, 1996, the East Bay Public Safety 
Corridor Partnership, along with several public and 
community-based organizations, sponsored a Gun Violence 
Prevention Symposium. The Symposium focused on the huge toll 
in lives and money, that gun violence takes on our 
communities. The meeting also pointed out the need to work 
together, as a region, to accomplish certain objectives.

As a result of the Symposium and a subsequent Summit 
meeting, held May 30, 1996, a number of cities in the East 
Bay Corridor Public Safety Partnership have passed 
legislation banning the sales of "Saturday Night Specials." 
Other jurisdictions are working on such legislation. East
Bay Corridor cities who have passed "Saturday Night Special" 
ordinances are: Oakland, San Leandro, Albany, Alameda, 
Hayward, Union City and Richmond. The cities of Livermore 
and the County of Alameda plan to go to their respective 
legislative bodies before the end of 1996.

Other cities and counties in the State of California have 
enacted "Junk Gun" legislation. The cities of West 
Hollywood, Los Angeles, San Francisco and the County of San 
Mateo have passed the legislation. The City of San Jose and 
the County of Santa Clara presented and passed their 
ordinances on September 17, 1996.

The "Saturday Night Special" ordinance presented to the City 
Council is very similar to the ordinances enacted by other 
cities. An important component of the ordinance is the 
development of the "roster" of firearms which will be 
classified as "Saturday Night Specials." The ordinance
requires the "roster" to be completed by January 1, 1997.

As part of the Gun Control Act of 1968, the federal  
government banned the importation of "Saturday Night 
Specials. " These are poorly made, easily concealed, and 
inexpensive handguns. Congress did not, however, ban the 
domestic manufacture, sale or possession of "Saturday Night 
Specials."

In 1993, "Saturday Night Specials" accounted for eight out 
of every ten guns confiscated by police in California. 
According to data supplied by the Bureau of Alcohol, 
Tobacco, and Firearms, nearly 700,000 "Saturday Night 
Specials" were produced in California in 1992 alone.
Seven of the ten most frequently traced guns nationwide in 
1994 were manufactured in California.

For handgun makers, the key to success has been keeping the 
price of their guns as low as possible. For example, one .25 
caliber Automatic Caliber Pistol (ACP) [sic] costs the  
manufacturer only $19.00 per handgun, and can be assembled 
in just a few minutes. Keeping costs down means shortcuts in 
quality of design, materials, and performance. Many of these 
guns are made with metal so soft it can be shaved with a 
knife.

An article in the magazine Gun Tests (the equivalent of 
Consumer Reports for gun purchasers) notes that "Saturday 
Night Specials" are kept inexpensive through the use of 
inferior metals, most notably zinc, and through the omission 
of safety features:

"Such simplicity keeps prices down, but is not without its 
downside. This is most often found in three areas: 
unsophisticated safety systems, few convenience features, 
and limited durability. Few of these inexpensive guns have 
such niceties as slide hold-open devices, and none should be 
carried with a round in the chamber. The Gun Tests editorial 
staff personally knows an individual who routinely carried 
one of these budget pistols "cocked and locked." After 
several months of doing so, the safety inadvertently 
disengaged while riding in his front pants pocket and he 
ended up shooting himself in the leg."

"Saturday Night Specials" are made of such inferior metal 
that one Sacramento recycler refuses to take them for scrap.

According to a 1995 poll of California voters, 78% of 
Californians support a ban on the manufacture, sale, and 
possession of "Saturday Night Specials." Seventy-six percent 
of gun owners support the ban. When asked if they would be 
more, or less, likely to vote for a lawmaker who voted for 
such a ban, 70% of those polled said that they would be more 
likely to do so, while only 14% said they would be less 
likely to support that official.

"Trigger Locks" are accessories which immobilize the trigger 
or hammer of the firearm to which they are attached. Several 
types of trigger locks, of varying degrees of complexity, 
are currently on the market. Studies have shown that in 36% 
of unintentional shootings by children, the record contained 
a clear statement that the child did not know the gun was 
loaded or did not know it was real. A recent Government 
Accounting Office study found that the use of trigger locks 
or other such devices could reduce unintentional firearm 
deaths by approximately 38%.

The addition of the "Trigger Lock" requirement to the 
existing Fremont Municipal Code should not be preempted by 
Penal Code Section 12026 because a trigger lock requirement 
does not prohibit gun ownership or impose any permit or 
licensing requirements on individuals wishing to purchase 
guns or possess them in their homes or places of business. A 
"Trigger Lock" is an inexpensive but an effective device 
that will (when properly used) assist in the prevention of 
an unintentional discharge of a firearm.

Proposed Plan:

 1. Adoption of the "Junk Gun" ordinance by the Fremont City 
Council, prohibiting the sales of certain firearms known as 
"Saturday Night Specials" or "Junk Guns."

2. Adoption of trigger lock amendments to Fremont Municipal 
Code sections 5-8102 and 5-8111.

Fiscal Impacts: Members of the East Bay Public Safety 
Corridor Partnership have discussed the implementation of 
the "Saturday Night Special" legislation and the creation of 
a "Roster" of firearms. Members of the Corridor Partnership 
agree that it would be beneficial to have a single list for 
all participating Cities in the Corridor. To that end, the 
Corridor Partners plan to hire an expert on firearms and 
metallurgy to compile a complete and accurate "Roster." The 
cost related to the creation of the "Roster" will be shared 
by the Corridor Partners.

The West Hollywood "Saturday Night Special" ordinance is 
presently being challenged on the legal theory that such 
local legislation is preempted by State law and a claim that 
the adopted definition does not adequately differentiate 
"Saturday Night Special" form [sic] other firearms. However, 
the City Attorney, from the City of Oakland, together with 
other legal experts including attorneys from the Legal 
Community Against Gun Violence (LCAGV) have determined:

First, with regard to peremption [sic], the State 
Legislature has made no clear statement of intent to occupy 
the field of firearm sales. A strong argument could be made 
that the Legislature has not either explicitly stated or 
implied the peremption [sic] of local legislation regarding 
the sale of "Saturday Night Specials."

Second, with the inclusion of a more stringent definition of 
"Saturday Night Special," the ban on sales would more likely 
withstand a facial challenge to the terms of the ordinance.
A new definition was in fact adopted by West Hollywood on 
April 1, 1996.

Due to the nature of this legislation, the potential for 
litigation is high. The costs of defending such a challenge 
should be weighed by the City Council when determining
whether to proceed with this ordinance. The City Council 
should also realize that San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland 
and Berkeley are charter cities and Fremont, like West
Hollywood, is a general law city. This creates some legal 
differences when challenging ordinances that can be 
explained more fully by our City Attorney.

Obviously, if the West Hollywood ordinance is overturned by 
the Courts then the City of Fremont could study the decision 
as handed down by the courts and determine if our ordinance 
is in violation of the court decision whereupon the Council 
could rescind the ordinance thereby avoiding a lawsuit.

Alternative to the Staff Recommendation: Do not pass any 
ordinance or ordinance revision and wait to see the outcome 
of the West Hollywood case to determine the authority
granted to general law cities to pass such an ordinance.

RECOMMENDATION: Waive full reading and introduce ordinance 
adopting new Fremont Municipal Code Chapter 18, Title III 
(Saturday Night Special oerdinance [sic]) and the trigger 
lock amendments to Fremont Municipal Code Chapter 8, Title 
V.


