Chapter 9.78
PROHIBITION OF COMMERCIAL SALE OF SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIALS
Sections:
9.78.010 Findings.
9.78.011 Title.
9.78.012 Purpose and intent.
9.78.013 Definitions.
9.78.014 Exclusions.
9.78.015 Roster of Saturday Night Specials.
9.78.016 Notification.
9.78.017 Reconsideration by the Chief of Police.
9.78.018 Appeal of classification.
9.78.019 Publication of the roster.
9.78.020 Effective date of roster.
9.78.021 Additions to the roster.
9.78.022 Sale prohibited.
9.78.023 Exemptions.
9.78.024 Penalty.
9.78.010 Findings.
The City Council of the City of Livermore finds that:
A. Saturday Night Specials, also known as “junk guns,” are poorly constructed, and not suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes.
B. Saturday Night Specials are small and light making them easy to conceal, and present a threat to the public welfare and law enforcement officers.
C. Of the firearms traced nationally in 1995, the three firearms most commonly traced to crimes were Saturday Night Specials.
D. Numerous public leaders and law enforcement officials have supported a ban on Saturday Night Specials.
E. The federal government has already prohibited the importation of foreign manufactured Saturday Night Specials.
F. In recent years, firearms manufacturers have made token modifications to those handguns commonly known as “Saturday Night Specials,” including: carbon steel breechface inserts, solid steel barrel tubes, a greater number of steel linings incorporated in soft castings. These modifications have resulted in no advancement, or only marginal advancement, in the durability of the handguns.
G. In recent years, firearms manufacturers have grafted improvised safety devices onto the core design of those handguns commonly known as Saturday Night Specials. These devices include: fragile half-cock hammer notches in derringers and single-action revolvers, manual pistol slide locks, rudimentary hammer or trigger locks that act by simple interference, and crude grip safety levers.
H. Such cosmetic remodeling by firearms manufacturers does not ameliorate the core design deficiencies of Saturday Night Special handguns. The City Council further finds that Saturday Night Special handguns continue to be dangerous products due to their low quality of manufacture and metallurgy, so as to be unacceptable to commerce.
I. A firearm’s frame, barrel, breechback, cylinder and slide must be completely fabricated of heat treated carbon steel, forged alloy or other material of equal or higher tensile strength in order to reliably contain the weapon’s ballistic power. The City Council further finds that any firearm in which all of these components do not meet this standard is an inherently unsafe product.
J. Firearms manufacturers have increased the ballistic power of many semi-automatic pistols by chambering them to fire high pressure ammunition, yet have not changed the materials used in the firing chamber, slide or breechface so as to contain the peak pressures generated by such ballistic power and to prevent parts breakage from overstress which can result in injury to the user.
K. The City Council finds that the action mechanism contained in many currently produced derringers and single-action revolvers is based upon century-old designs, so that chambering such weapons for high pressure ammunition results in a ballistic pressure which exceeds the pressure levels the design is originally intended to withstand. (Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018; Ord. 1502 § 1, 1997)
9.78.011 Title.
This chapter shall be known as the “City of Livermore Saturday Night Special/Junk Gun Sales Prohibition”. (Ord. 1502 § 1, 1997)
9.78.012 Purpose and intent.
The purpose of this chapter is to ensure the health, safety, and general welfare of City of Livermore citizens by eliminating the sale of cheaply made, inadequately designed and poorly manufactured handguns in the City of Livermore. (Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018; Ord. 1502 § 1, 1997)
9.78.013 Definitions.
Except as provided in LMC 9.78.014, the term “Saturday Night Special,” as used in this section shall mean any of the following:
A. A pistol, revolver, or firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, as those terms are defined in the California Penal Code Section 12001(a), which contains a frame, barrel, breechblock, cylinder or slide that is not completely fabricated of heat treated carbon steel, forged alloy or other material of equal or higher tensile strength.
B. A semi-automatic pistol which:
1. Is not originally equipped by the manufacturer with a locked-breech action; and
2. Is chambered for cartridges developing maximum permissible breech pressures above 24,100 copper units of pressure as standardized by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute.
3. For purpose of this subsection (B)(2) of this section, “semi-automatic pistol” shall mean a firearm, as defined in California Penal Code Section 12001(b), which is designed to be held and fired with one hand, and which does the following upon discharge: (i) fires the cartridge in the chamber; (ii) ejects the fired cartridge case; and (iii) loads a cartridge from the magazine into the chamber. “Semi-automatic pistol” shall not include any assault weapons designated in California Penal Code Section 12276.
C. A pistol, revolver, or firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, as those terms are defined in California Penal Code Section 12001(a), which:
1. Uses an action mechanism which is substantially identical in design to any action mechanism manufactured in or before 1898 that was originally chambered for rimfire ammunition developing maximum safe permissible breech pressures below 19,000 copper units of pressure as standardized by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute; and
2. Is chambered to fire either centerfire ammunition or rimfire ammunition developing maximum permissible breech pressures above 19,000 copper units of pressure as standardized by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute.
3. Is not originally equipped by the manufacturer with a nondetachable trigger guard.
4. If rimfire, is equipped with a barrel of less than 20 bore diameters in overall length protruding from the frame.
5. For purposes of this subsection C, “action mechanism” shall mean the mechanism of a firearm by which it is loaded, locked, fired and unloaded commonly known as the cycle of operation. (Ord. 1502 § 1, 1997)
9.78.014 Exclusions.
The terms “Saturday Night Special” does not include any of the following:
A. Any pistol which is an antique or relic firearm or other weapon falling within the specifications of paragraphs (5), (7) and (8) of subsection (b) of California Penal Code Section 12020; or
B. Any pistol for which the propelling force is classified as pneumatic, that is, of, or related to, compressed air or any other gases not directly produced by combustion; or
C. Children’s pop guns or toys; or
D. An “unconventional pistol” as defined in California Penal Code Section 12020(c) (12); or
E. Any pistol which has been modified to either render it permanently inoperable, or permanently to make it a device no longer classified as a Saturday Night Special. (Ord. 1502 § 1, 1997)
9.78.015 Roster of Saturday Night Specials.
As soon as practicable, but no earlier than July 1, 1997, the Chief of Police or his/her designee shall compile, publish, and thereafter maintain a roster of Saturday Night Specials. The roster shall list those firearms, by manufacturer and model number, which the Chief of Police or his/her designee determines fit the definition of Saturday Night Special set forth in LMC 9.78.013. (Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018; Ord. 1502 § 1, 1997)
9.78.016 Notification.
Upon completion of a list of firearms to be placed on the roster for the first time, the Police Chief or his/her designee shall send written notification to: (1) the manufacturer of every firearm on said list; and (2) every dealer within the City who is licensed to sell and transfer firearms pursuant to Section 12071 of the Penal Code of the State of California and LMC 9.76.010. Such notification shall do the following:
A. Identify the model number of the firearm which has been classified as a Saturday Night Special within the meaning of LMC 9.78.013; and
B. Advise the recipient that the recipient may, within 30 days of receipt, apply for reconsideration of the classification of the firearm as a Saturday Night Special; and
C. Advise the recipient that the burden of proving a firearm does not constitute a Saturday Night Special within the meaning of LMC 9.78.013 shall be on the recipient. (Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018; Ord. 1502 § 1, 1997)
9.78.017 Reconsideration by the Chief of Police.
A. The Chief of Police, or his/her designee, shall, prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, establish standards and procedures for the form and content of an application, conducting an administrative hearing and evaluating evidentiary testimony relating to the decision of the Chief of Police or his/her designee to classify the firearm in question as a Saturday Night Special as defined in LMC 9.78.013.
B. Upon timely filing of one or more complete applications for reconsideration, the Chief of Police or his/her designee shall evaluate the evidence submitted by the applicant(s). The applicant(s) shall have the burden of demonstrating that the firearm does not constitute a Saturday Night Special within the meaning of LMC 9.78.013. (Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018; Ord. 1502 § 1, 1997)
9.78.018 Appeal of classification.
If the Chief of Police, or his or her designee, determines that the firearm under reconsideration has been properly classified as a Saturday Night Special, then the applicant(s) shall have the right to appeal such decision in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 1.22 LMC. (Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018; Ord. 2052 § 1(P), 2017; Ord. 1502 § 1, 1997)
9.78.019 Publication of the roster.
The Chief of Police or his/her designee shall place on the roster those firearms which have been determined to constitute a Saturday Night Special within the meaning of LMC 9.78.013. The Chief of Police or his/her designee shall cause the roster to be published in the following manner:
A. Notification of the roster’s completion shall be published at least once in the official newspaper as designated by the City and circulated in the City within 15 days after its completion; and
B. A copy of the roster, certified as a true and correct copy thereof, shall be filed in the office of the city clerk of the City of Livermore; and
C. A copy of the roster, certified as a true and correct copy thereof, shall be distributed to every dealer within the City who is licensed to sell and transfer firearms pursuant to Section 12071 of the Penal Code of the state of California and LMC 9.76.010. (Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018; Ord. 1502 § 1, 1997)
9.78.020 Effective date of roster.
The roster shall become effective on the fifteenth day after its publication. (Ord. 1502 § 1, 1997)
9.78.021 Additions to the roster.
Additions to the roster shall be made in accordance with the following:
A. Semi-Annual Determination. On a semi-annual basis, the Chief of Police or his/her designee shall determine the need to place firearms on the roster. Upon identifying one or more firearms as a Saturday Night Special, the Chief of Police or his/her designee shall prepare a draft list of the additions to the roster.
B. Notification of Additions to Roster. In the event that a draft list of firearms to be added to the roster is prepared, the Chief of Police or his/her designee shall endeavor to send written notification in accordance with the provisions of LMC 9.78.016.
C. Reconsideration by the Chief of Police. Any person who the Chief of Police or his/her designee notifies pursuant to subsection B of this section may apply for reconsideration of the classification of that firearm as a Saturday Night Special in accordance with the provisions of LMC 9.78.017.
D. Appeal of Classification. Whenever a firearm has been determined to be properly classified as a Saturday Night Special after reconsideration, the applicant may file an appeal to the City Manager and the City Manager or his/her designee shall hold a hearing in accordance with the provisions of LMC 9.78.018.
E. Additions of Firearms to Roster. After all appeals have been exhausted, the Chief of Police or his/her designee shall place on the roster those additional firearms which have been determined to constitute a Saturday Night Special within the meaning of LMC 9.78.013. The Chief of Police or his/her designee shall cause the roster, as amended to include these additional firearms, to be published in accordance with LMC 9.78.019.
F. Effective Date of Additions to the Roster. The addition of new firearms to the roster shall not operate to preclude the enforcement of the roster with respect to firearms previously listed thereon. The publication of the roster, as amended to include new firearms, shall be effective as to those newly added firearms on the fifteenth day after its publication as set forth in LMC 9.78.020. (Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018; Ord. 1502 § 1, 1997)
9.78.022 Sale prohibited.
After August 1, 1997, no wholesale or retail firearms dealer within the City of Livermore shall sell, offer or display for sale, give, lend or transfer ownership of, any firearm listed on the roster of Saturday Night Specials. This section shall not preclude a wholesale or retail gun dealer from processing firearm transactions between unlicensed parties pursuant to Section 12072(d) of the Penal Code of the state of California. (Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018; Ord. 1502 § 1, 1997)
9.78.023 Exemptions.
Nothing in this chapter relative to the sale of Saturday Night Specials shall prohibit the disposition of any firearm by sheriffs, constables, marshals, police officers, or other duly appointed peace officers in the performance of their official duties, nor to persons who are authorized by the United States federal government for use in the performance of their official duties; nor shall anything in this chapter prohibit the use of any firearm by the above mentioned persons in the performance of their official duties. (Ord. 1502 § 1, 1997)
9.78.024 Penalty.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Any person convicted of a misdemeanor under the provisions of this chapter shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Each such person shall be guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which any violation of any provision of this chapter is committed, continued or permitted by such person and shall be punishable accordingly. (Ord. 1502 § 1, 1997)