LA City Council Votes 12-0 to Repeal Ban on ‘Ultra-Compact’ Handguns

The Los Angeles City Council voted 12-0 Tuesday to end the city’s ban on “ultra-compact” handguns.

The vote came after prominent gun rights organizations threatened ligation.

The 16-year-old ban prohibited gun dealers from selling guns smaller than 6.75 inches in length and 4.5 inches in height. The Los Angeles Times reported that the ban also prohibited licensed gun dealers from selling holsters to accommodate such guns.

According to the Times, the ban was imposed in 2001 after being pushed by City Atty. Mike Feuer. He was a councilman at the time and pushed to bar law-abiding citizens from purchasing “ultra-compact” handguns because small guns were “the weapons of choice for criminals.” Gun rights groups countered Feuer’s ban, suggesting he was only making it harder for women, handicapped individuals, and other vulnerable citizens to get the guns they could use efficiently for self-defense.

Recently, the ban drew the threat of litigation from the NRA and the California Rifle and Pistol Association (CRPA), both of whom claimed the ban was preempted at the state level.

Following the 12-0 vote to repeal the ban, CRPA attorney Chuck Michel said, “My clients are pleased that the city recognized that local governments cannot regulate in ways that conflict with or duplicate state laws. We will continue to monitor local municipal codes throughout California and pursue the clean-up of these kinds of ineffective laws – which typically are never enforced once the initial press conferences are over.”

Michel sent Breitbart News a statement summarizing NRA and CRPA efforts, saying, “On September 20, 2016, NRA and CRPA attorneys submitted a pre-litigation demand letter to the City, pointing out that the ordinance was preempted because it conflicted with the state law regulating what handguns can be sold, and was therefore invalid. The City stalled the repeal, but NRA and CRPA attorneys submitted repeated public record requests, and relentlessly pushed the City attorney’s office until the City finally repealed the ordinance.”

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.