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Sacramento joins battle against suit attacking Chicago gun controls ShareThis <javascript:void(0)> Buzz up! <http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzz?publisherurn=the_sacrament682&guid=%2Ftopstories%2Fstory%2F2423529.html&targetUrl=> By Loretta Kalb [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> Published: Monday, Dec. 28, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 2B Last Modified: Monday, Dec. 28, 2009 - 8:44 am The city of Sacramento regulates handguns and ammunition, and the City Council is willing to go to court to continue that role. It voted recently to join other cities arguing in support of the city of Chicago, whose gun control ordinance is under review by the U.S. Supreme Court. On March 2, the court will hear oral arguments in the case of McDonald v. Chicago, a case sponsored by the Second Amendment Foundation and the Illinois State Rifle Association. That case is filed on behalf of Chicago residents, including Otis McDonald, a retiree seeking to rid his neighborhood of drug dealers and who wants to have a handgun in his home. Sacramento's brief -- in conjunction with other cities -- is expected to argue that state and local governments are exercising one of their core police powers by regulating possession and use of firearms. Other cities invited to join in the friend of the court brief include Baltimore, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York, Oakland, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Trenton, N.J. They filed briefs when a similar, landmark, case, District of Columbia v. Heller, went before the Supreme Court last year. In that case, the court held that individuals may possess a firearm at home for self-defense. But it did not overturn D.C.'s gun licensing, according to the city of Sacramento's staff report. Councilman Kevin McCarty, who has sponsored city efforts to quell gun violence, proposed that Sacramento join the other cities in the McDonald case. The council voted 7-2 to participate in a meeting earlier this month. Mayor Kevin Johnson and Councilman Robbie Waters were opposed. Johnson, through an aide, called the effort "poorly drawn and not reflective of our challenges here in Sacramento." "We should focus our time and energies on issues within our jurisdiction," Johnson was quoted as saying. Waters, a former sheriff and homicide detective for the city, is a longtime gun-rights advocate. McCarty said in an interview that gun violence "clearly ... is a major problem and epidemic across the country." He cited three firearms- related homicides locally in the days leading to the council vote. The guns, McCarty added, "are most likely used by assailants or people who shouldn't have guns in the first place. This is all about local control." The city, he said, has confiscated more than 200 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition as a result of two city ordinances he authored in 2007. One gives gun owners 48 hours to report a lost or stolen firearm or be charged with a misdemeanor. The other requires firearms dealers to thumb-print and electronically report the names and addresses of those who buy ammunition. McCarty said that if the Supreme Court decision goes "in the wrong direction, it could threaten the ability of cities like Sacramento to do exactly what we're doing, and that is making our streets safer." ShareThis <javascript:void(0)> Buzz up! <http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzz?publisherurn=the_sacrament682&guid=%2Ftopstories%2Fstory%2F2423529.html&targetUrl=> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ /Call The Bee's Loretta Kalb, (916) 321-1073./ -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
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