TITLE
Recommendation to request City Council to approve the motion of the Public Safety Committee on February 25, 2022, to support Assembly Bill 1621 to enact legislation relating to unserialized firearms.
BACKGROUND
On February 25, 2022, the Public Safety Committee (Committee) received a presentation regarding increased gun violence and ghost guns in Long Beach. Between 2020 and 2021, the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) reported an increase in shootings (14 percent), firearm-related arrests (37 percent), firearms seized (36 percent), and prohibited firearm possessor arrests (24 increase). Of all firearms seized by LBPD in 2021, 17 percent were ghost guns, which are assembled from components and kits sold online. Ghost guns bypass the background check process, lack serial numbers used for tracking, and are not included in acquisition and disposition records.
Given the challenge of addressing the increase of ghost guns in the City, the Committee moved to support Assembly Bill 1621. The legislation, introduced by Assembly member Mike Gipson on January 10, 2022, would further prohibit unserialized firearms, or ghost guns, in California by redefining ghost guns as a firearm precursor and considering them as firearms for the purposes of regulating the possession, sale, and transfer. The legislation would also prohibit the manufacturing or assembling of an unserialized firearm, requiring certain timelines for people in possession of unserialized firearms to have them registered within the State database.
FISCAL IMPACT
No Financial Management review was able to be conducted due to the urgency and time sensitivity of this item.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
SUELY SARO COUNCILWOMAN
SIXTH DISTRICT