LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on a motion by Supervisor Hilda L. Solis and Chair Janice Hahn to support President Joe Biden’s new Executive Order on Reducing Gun Violence and Making Our Communities Safer.
Last week, Supervisor Solis joined President Joe Biden in the City of Monterey Park, a community that experienced a tragic mass shooting that senselessly took the lives of 11 people, as he announced a new Executive Order on Reducing Gun Violence and Making Our Communities Safer.
The Executive Order calls on Congress to take additional legislative action, including banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, requiring background checks for all gun sales, requiring safe storage of firearms, and expanding community violence intervention and prevention strategies.
Just this year alone, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed several motions to support five gun-safety-related bills introduced by State and Federal legislators. They have also created two new County ordinances that prohibit the sale of .50 caliber firearms and ammunition with certain exceptions and the carrying or possession of firearms on County property with certain exceptions.
“I’m grateful to President Biden for visiting the City of Monterey Park to meet with the victims, survivors, and their families of the recent mass shooting. It was the ideal location for the President to make his announcement of a new Executive Order on reducing gun violence because Monterey Park is a place that exudes hope and resilience. From banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines to requiring background checks for all gun sales and calling for the safe storage of firearms, we have already supported these areas through many motions – many of which were passed this year alone. To that end, it is incumbent on us to lend our support to President Biden’s Executive Order so that we can keep our communities safe from gun violence,” said Supervisor Solis.
In the absence of action from Congress, President Biden’s executive order will help keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people and make our red flag laws more effective so that loved ones can be empowered to prevent tragedy when a gun owner becomes a danger to themselves or others,” said Chair Hahn. “When I greeted President Biden on the tarmac at LAX last week, I shared with him how here in LA County we are taking our own steps to strengthen red flag laws and that we support this effort at the federal level.”
The motion approved today directs the County’s Chief Executive Office-Legislative Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations Division branch to send a five-signature letter supporting President Joe Biden’s Executive Order and supporting legislation consistent with the Executive Order. It also directs County Counsel to review President Joe Biden’s Executive Order against previous actions of the Board of Supervisors and provide a report back, in writing, in 45 days, with recommendations on further actions the Board can take to align itself with the Executive Order, including but not limited to creating new or expanding existing County ordinances, among other actions.
To read the full motion, click here.
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