Plan to Fingerprint Gun Buyers Falters in Alameda County

SAN FRANCISCO — A proposal by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to photograph and fingerprint prospective gun buyers faltered at the last minute Tuesday in the face of an outpouring of protest from gun store owners and firearms enthusiasts.

Final approval of the ordinance--normally a formality known as a “second reading”--was delayed for at least two weeks while supervisors regroup and attempt to persuade cities in Alameda County to join in adopting the law at the same time.

The measure, believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, was hailed by gun control advocates as a step toward keeping guns out of the hands of criminals. But the ordinance came under fire from the National Rifle Assn. and other gun control opponents who promised to challenge the measure in court.

Under the proposal, gun buyers would be required to go to the Sheriff’s Department, submit to fingerprinting and have a photograph taken during the 15-day waiting period that is already required by the state for many gun purchases.

Although the board approved the ordinance by a 5-0 vote on first reading two weeks ago, several supervisors said Tuesday they were troubled that it would apply only to gun stores in unincorporated areas of the county, leaving urban gun stores untouched.

“It seems to me not to be comprehensive legislation that attacks the problem but grandstanding legislation that makes a statement,” Supervisor Mary King said in explaining her reluctance to vote for the measure again. “The issue of disparate treatment because they happen to be located in this (unincorporated) area seems punitive.”

King said she would still vote for the measure if such cities as Oakland, San Leandro and Hayward adopted similar measures so that all gun stores in the county play by the same rules.

Despite the setback, Supervisor Don Perata, the sponsor of the ordinance, said he was optimistic that the measure would win final approval. He said he has already begun lobbying city leaders to adopt the law and has received some favorable responses, but isn’t certain if cities will be ready to support the measure within two weeks.

“A couple of my colleagues would prefer to have some of the cities step to the line before we enact the ordinance,” Perata said. “I was taking the view that it’s a lot easier to ask people to do something you have already done yourself.”

After delaying the final vote, the board met in private to discuss the threat of a lawsuit by the NRA, which opposes the ordinance. But board members dismissed the significance of the threat, noting that they are sued all the time for actions they take.

The push for stiffer gun control laws has taken on an urgency in Alameda County because of a record number of murders this year in Oakland and a surge in other violent crime.

The night before the scheduled vote, Supervisor Gail Steele said, she heard gunfire outside her door in the city of Hayward for the second time in two weeks.

“I’m so upset about what’s going on outside my house I can’t deal with it any more,” she said. “You go up against the NRA and it can be harmful (politically) but those are the chances you take.”