Corinne S Kennedy | Palm Springs Desert Sun

Palm Springs Desert Sun

The Desert Sun

The Palm Springs City Council voted to repeal part of a series of gun control measures put in place after the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016, but will discuss implementing additional measures such as preventing people from bringing firearms to some public events.

Council members voted 3-2 to repeal a law that required Palm Springs residents to report stolen firearms to the police within 48 hours. A state law, which was passed by the voters as a proposition a few months after the Palm Springs ordinance was passed, requires the reporting of stolen firearms within five days.

Council members Christy Holstege and Geoff Kors voted against the repeal.

A staff report prepared by City Attorney Ed Kotkin concluded repealing Palm Springs’ law would not have a “foreseeable impact” on people reporting lost or stolen guns.

He wrote that “based on a threat of litigation, any arguable conflict with state law should be resolved.” The National Rifle Association sent a letter to Palm Springs before the measure was passed threatening to sue the city, but no lawsuit was filed. Kotkin did not specify if the current litigation threat was from the NRA.

Holstege said she wasn’t swayed by the threat of litigation and she “couldn’t politically support reducing gun safety legislation at this time.”

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The city staff report noted that from Sept. 30, 2016, shortly before the Palm Springs ordinance took effect, to the beginning of October, Palm Springs police received 46 reports of 61 stolen firearms.

Associated Press

“Reporting of stolen firearms is taking place and will very likely continue under state law,” Kotkin wrote.

Council member Lisa Middleton said she hoped the federal government would follow California’s lead.

“We’re doing this because the state of California has acted very responsibly and the California public has acted very responsibly,” she said. “I look forward to the day that we can say that the president and the United States Congress has acted responsibly to pass gun safety legislation and I hope that happens before the next mass shooting.”

The council also agreed to form a subcommittee to research other potential firearms regulations that could be brought forward for a vote.

There was no public comment on the matter Wednesday.

Two other firearms restrictions put in place in 2016 — that guns and ammunition left in unattended vehicles must be in the trunk or a locked container and at home and that gun owners must keep firearms in a locked container or disabled with a trigger lock when not in their immediate possession — remain on the books.

The measures were the subject of heated debate in the meetings leading up to the council’s final approval two years ago. While gun-control advocacy groups like Moms Demand Action applauded the council’s move and said the restrictions could prevent accidental shootings, local gun owners said the measures were overly restrictive and could make law-abiding gun owners less safe by making it more difficult to access and use their firearms in life-threatening situations.

City Council members were also split by the debate. The measure passed 3-2, with former council members Ginny Foat and Chris Mills voting no.