Group to Study Gun Law Penalties
Spurred by the recent rash of freeway shootings, Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) on Thursday announced a new task force will seek tougher sentences for violators of handgun laws.
The recommendations of the eight-member task force will be consolidated into legislation to be introduced in August, Bergeson said.
“We currently have laws about carrying loaded guns without a license, and obviously some of those aren’t being followed,†she said.
“We want to go to experts who deal with the laws to see what, if anything, needs to be done to deal with this.â€
The task force will be careful not to recommend legislation that would restrict civil liberties, she said.
Members of the task force are Bergeson; Orange County Dist. Atty. Cecil Hicks; Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates; B.B. Killingsworth chief of the Border Division of the California Highway Patrol; Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block; Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates; Harmon G. Scoville presiding judge of the Orange County Superior Court, and Debbie Huffman a representative of Victims for Victims, a nonprofit support group for crime victims.
“We consider them to be the authorities that would be most helpful,†Bergeson said, adding that more members may be named later.
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