Claudia Peschiutta
Another memorial. Another pile of flowers. Another kid charged with
attempted murder.
The images of teens crying and hugging in front of Santana High School
and Charles Andrew Williams wearing an orange prison suit too large for
his lanky frame are still fresh in our minds.
For state Sen. Jack Scott (D-Glendale), the school shooting that left
two students dead and 13 other people injured this week is evidence of
the need to consider tougher gun-control laws, such as the
handgun-licensing bill he recently reintroduced.
"I'm not saying if my bill had been in effect that it would have
prevented [this] but, certainly, the father would have known how to store
his guns more safely," Scott said.
But the Santana High shooting and run of campus violence at other
schools that followed hasn't necessarily made Gov. Gray Davis more
receptive to signing more gun-control measures into law.
"There is time enough to assess reforms and determine whether
legislation is appropriate," Roger Salazar, a Davis spokesman, said in a
statement Friday. "This is a time of tragedy for the families and the
students at Santee, CA. Now is not the time to talk about public policy."
Scott's bill, SB 52, is similar to legislation he introduced last year
but pulled before it could get to the governor's desk because Davis was
likely to veto the measure.
The bill would require anyone buying or transferring a handgun to
undergo a licensing procedure including training, a written test and
safe-handling and shooting proficiency evaluations.
The Glendale legislator believes SB 52 will get a better reception
this year.
"[Davis] isn't saying he will sign but, at the same time, he is not
saying he will veto it," Scott said.
Ambiguity must come as a relief after the governor declared a one-year
moratorium on new gun laws for 2000.
Scott is also touting the fact that his bill has gotten support from
the California Police Chiefs Assn. and the California Organization of
Police and Sheriffs.
A recent news release said the two law-enforcement groups "are calling
for the passage of SB 52 to require handgun-safety licensing in
California."
The association, which represents about 320 municipal police chiefs
throughout the state, isn't exactly "calling for" the bill's passage.
"We approved the principle of the bill," said Leslie McGill, deputy
executive director of the association. "In terms of strong, approved,
heavily, heavily lobbying for it ... we're not doing that."
