Jesse Marx

The Desert Sun

An attorney for the National Rifle Association and other firearm owners has warned the City Council that Palm Springs' foray into gun-control could come at a price. In a public letter, Matthew Cubeiro cited the examples of Sunnyvale and Los Angeles — two cities that have been sued in recent years for enacting proposals similar to what’s on the table in Palm Springs.

“Tread lightly,” Cubeiro wrote Wednesday, quoting a California Court of Appeals case involving Stockton and San Francisco. “Jurisdictions failing to follow this advice have subjected themselves to expensive and time consuming litigation.”

In response to the Orlando massacre, Palm Springs has considered five new regulations as part of a single ordinance. It includes the requirement to report lost or stolen firearms, to safely store firearms at home, and to record ammunition sales at the time of purchase.

Two other provisions would prohibit the possession of firearm magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds and prohibit unsecured firearms and ammunition in vehicles. But because the California Legislature approved similar bills last week, the council asked that those duplicate items be removed.

READ MORE: Palm Springs gun control plan draws protesters

Cubeiro, who’s based in Long Beach, also pointed the council’s attention to Gov. Jerry Brown’s recent veto of a bill that would have required people to report lost or stolen firearms within a set time-frame, similar to the Palm Springs ordinance. Brown disagreed that the law would help cops identify traffickers or curb violence. He wrote that “responsible people report the loss of theft of a firearm and irresponsible people do not.”

Council member Geoff Kors, an attorney, proposed the ordinance. He was unfazed by the letter.

“The NRA sues anyone who does anything on gun control, or even the most basic gun safety laws, as we've seen," he said. "The fact that someone is threatening to sue us, at least in my mind, won't stop us from enacting legal measures." Most cities, he added, have found lawyers willing to defend local governments against the NRA pro bono.

Kors also noted that, in last year's Sunnyvale case, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court ruled in favor of the city, saying it could enforce an ordinance prohibiting large-capacity gun magazines. The unanimous decision cleared the way for other cities to consider similar ideas.

Palm Springs’ proposal, which drew protesters on Wednesday night, will come back up for discussion on Aug. 3.

Council member J.R. Roberts said he's hoping the next draft goes even further by ensuring that every gun-buyer read and agree to the new, local safety requirements. He wants Palm Springs to be “a model city for setting the trend on gun control," he added.

Gwendolyn S. Patton, spokesperson for an LGBT pro-gun group known as Pink Pistols International — which has a chapter in Palm Springs — also wrote a critical letter to the council. "No legislation, either federal, state, or local, has had any protective effect against criminal or terrorist activity like the attack on the Orlando nightclub," Patton said.

Reach the author at jesse.marx@desertsun.com and @marxjesse on Twitter.