NEWS RELEASE Attorney General Bill Lockyer California Department of Justice                  http://caag.state.ca.us

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JANUARY 11, 2002   02-004    Contact: Hallye Jordan Attorney General's Office (916) 324-5500 Alison Merrilees Sen. Jack Scott's Office (916) 445-5976

ATTORNEY GENERAL BILL LOCKYER AND SENATOR JACK SCOTT ANNOUNCE NEW LAW REQUIRES LOCKS ON ALL FIREARMS   Also Unveil New Public Service Safety Announcement on Safe Storage of Firearms

(LOS ANGELES) - California Attorney General Bill Lockyer and State Senator Jack Scott, D-Pasadena, today kicked off a landmark public safety law that requires certified locking devices or secure safes for all firearms sold or manufactured in California Enacted in 1999, the law went into effect on January 1 of this year. Because California requires a 10-day waiting period before a gun buyer can pick up his or her newly purchased firearm, all firearms leaving gun stores starting today must include a Department of Justice-approved firearm safety device. "Few things are as tragic as the death or injury of a loved one caused by an accidental shooting," Lockyer said. "This common-sense law will save lives and make California safer for children."  Scott, a longtime gun safety advocate who lost his own son in an accidental shooting, co-authored the bill with Assemblywoman Dion Aroner, D-Berkeley. "This law is one more sensible step toward the goal of preventing gunfire deaths and injuries," Scott said. "Like child-proof caps on medicine bottles, car seats and seat belts, the requirement for trigger locks will reduce accidental deaths and injuries, especially among children." Under the law, all hand guns and long guns must be equipped with a Department of Justice-approved safety device, or the gun owner must sign an affidavit stating they own an approved gun safe or lock box that will provide secure storage of the weapon. The law applies to the sale of all new firearms, as well as private transfers of guns, which also must be conducted through a licensed gun dealer. The law exempts guns defined by law as antique firearms and those that are intended to be used by salaried, full-time peace officers in the discharge of their official duties. Lockyer and Scott were joined by John Johannessen of Stop Our Shootings , a non-profit organization he established after his daughter was accidentally shot by a friend in 1997. Johannsen's daughter, Shanelle,

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then 12, was accidentally shot by her then 13-year-old friend, who had pulled a semiautomatic pistol from her mother's boyfriend's briefcase and removed the loaded magazine. Although there was a bullet still in the gun's chamber, the friend thought the gun was unloaded, and shot Shanelle in the neck. The friend's

tearful call to 911 is the basis of the public service announcement video on safe storage of guns that was previewed at the press conference. The video, created by the Attorney General's Office, will be released to local television stations statewide in February.

Gunshot victims account for approximately half of the 7,000-8,000 trauma victims that come through the Trauma Center doors at the Los Angeles County and University of Southern California Medical Center, the largest hospital and trauma center in the country, according to Dr. Juan A. Asensio. Dr. Asensio is one of the Senior Trauma Surgeons at the center and the leading force in the Trauma Outreach Program of the Division of Trauma Surgery at USC, which educates youths about urban violence.

Lockyer and Scott also were joined at the press conference by Adam Weinraub of Pro-Lok and Paul Schildhouse of Master Lock, two of 20 firearm safety device manufacturing companies whose products were submitted to and approved by the Department of Justice. The two said that the law has significantly improved the safety of firearm locking and safe storage devices that are available in California and the rest of the country.

Department of Justice firearms officials said that 90 percent of the trigger locks and other devices on the market before the new law went into effect would have failed the Department's rigorous safety testing standards. Some of those devices included hard rubber bands that easily could be cut or plastic lock cases that were easily broken with a hammer. Since April 2001, the Department has approved and certified 48 separate firearm safety devices and lock boxes, and gun dealers and manufacturers continue to submit locking devices for testing and approval.

The Department has approved safety devices that are currently available that fit more than 8,000 models of handguns and long guns. While some of the safety devices are model-specific, there are others that have been approved that fit a variety of firearms. A roster listing the models of firearms and approved safety devices is available on the Attorney General's web page at http://www.ag.ca.gov/firearms/index.html