CA:Lack of gun locks halts local sales of weapons

Josey1

Lack of gun locks halts local sales of weapons By Jason KandelStaff Writer A shortage of trigger safety locks required on all weapons sold under a new state law has stalled gun purchases and frustrated shop owners.Gun shop owners have had to shelve racks of arms while they wait for locks that are nearly impossible to come by and won't arrive for months because of a shortage of manufacturing capacity. Robert Kahn, owner of B&B Sales. (Tina Burch / Daily News) "I can always retire, but I'm worried for my people. If I go out, my people won't have jobs," said Robert Kahn, owner of B&B Sales in North Hollywood. "Gun locks are a useless, expensive imposition on gun owners. I'm having to tie up money unnecessarily for firearms that I can't sell because they don't have the right locks."Kahn's frustrations were echoed by several gun shop owners over the law that took effect Jan. 1.Assembly Bill 106 -- co-authored by state Sen. Jack Scott, D-Pasadena, requires locks on all guns made in the state, bought or transferred. Dealers and manufacturers found guilty of breaking the new law could face a $1,000 fine for the first offense and possible closure of their business for a third offense.The state Department of Justice plans spot checks at shops and will review records of sales. Gun buyers who can prove they have approved safes at home are exempt.Scott said he plans to introduce an urgency measure this week to postpone the deadline for some types of long guns -- rifles and shotguns -- that currently don't have state-approved locks, but disputed shop owners' claims they're being put out of business."It's a bogus claim," Scott said. "Gun owners were told about the law. They were warned about it. Some gun dealers just don't like the bother of it."I'm not trying to impede the sale of guns. It does raise the price a little, but the prevention of death and injury is worth all the cost that's involved."National Rifle Association lawyer Chuck Michel of San Pedro said state officials didn't notify dealers until Dec. 13 of the new requirement."They're frantically trying to do what they can to be able to stay in business," he said. "They're losing a big percentage of their business."The number of accidental deaths by guns decreased last year across Los Angeles County, according to the county Department of Health Services. In 1998, 10 people were killed. In 1999, 15 people were killed. And in 2000, four people were killed.As the law took effect, locksmithing businesses, some of which have never before made locks for guns, have been scrambling to meet the demand. The state DOJ has published an 800-page roster of 48 firearm safety devices that will fit more than 8,000 models of handguns and long guns."We are continuing to test and certify devices," said DOJ spokeswoman Hallye Jordan.ProLock of Orange, whose best-known product is the SlimJim, got into the gun lock business several years ago but it wasn't very lucrative. Now, it has been flooded with calls from dealers and gun manufacturers for its state-approved trigger locks that run from $10.95 to $13.95."We're having an influx right now," said Adam Weintraub, the company's president. "We're shipping out locks on a daily basis."At King's Gun Works in Glendale, about 80 weapons can't be sold because they haven't been fitted with the required state-approved safety lock."Master Lock has told us that the lock we need won't be available until February," said John Jackson, a sales associate at King's. "This is going to severely hurt our business."But gun control advocates and law enforcement officials say the law will help save lives."It'll absolutely save lives," said Luis Tolley, the Western director of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "When you buy a weapon, it will come with a lock designed for that gun. We think that most people will store it with that lock in the same way aspirin is stored with a childproof cap." http://www.dailynews.com/NEWS/articles/0102/12/NEW02.asp

Iconoclast

Hmm . . . lots of those useless POS locks on the market at local shows, maybe I should pick some up & re-sell them to the lucky KA dealers? I also understand that in some jurisdictions, it's only a requirement that the buyer purchase the lock w/ the gun, whereupon they return the next day for a refund? Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?

Khegglie

they have laws like this in the great NE...i usually bring my own trigger lock with me for each buy i make..them i dont have to pay extra for the POS they make you buy to get the piece out of the store.