3 new gun laws introduced in LA County

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. - Local leaders announced new gun legislation Monday aimed at combating gun violence.

The Prosecutors Alliance were joined by Assemblymember Mike Fong (D-Alhambra) – whose district includes Monterey Park – Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón, Monterey Park Mayor Jose Sanchez, and gun violence survivor LaNaisha Edwards to announce the three new laws. 

This comes as more shootings were reported across the Los Angeles area over the weekend. On Sunday, two people were shot near the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Later that evening, a car-to-car shooting was reported in Cerritos. 

Fong authored three bills he said are critical to stop shootings that are "happening almost daily at schools, grocery stores, churches and dance studios."

Assembly Bill 732, Fong said, would help take guns from people who are legally prohibited from having them, and would prevent a court from closing a case without proof that a defendant has surrendered all their firearms. 

AB 1638 would require local agencies that serve jurisdictions where 10% or more of the population speaks a language other than English to have adequate staffing to provide information in that language during an emergency situation. Officials pointed to the Monterey Park mass shooting in January as one that affected a largely Chinese-speaking population.

 AB 733, meanwhile, would prevent state and local agencies from selling surplus firearms, ammunition and body armor. All three bills are pending in Sacramento.

Nationwide, the U.S. is setting a record pace for mass killings in 2023, replaying the horror on a loop roughly once a week so far this year.

The carnage has taken 88 lives in 17 mass killings over 111 days. Each time, the killers wielded firearms. Only 2009 was marked by as many such tragedies in the same period of time.

At the federal level, President Joe Biden last year signed a milestone gun violence bill, toughening background checks for the youngest gun buyers, keeping firearms from more domestic violence offenders and helping states use red flag laws that enable police to ask courts to take guns from people who show signs they could turn violent.

The Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this report.