Laserfiche WebLink
WHEREAS, the federal government has already prohibited the importation of <br />foreign manufactured Saturday Night Specials; and <br />WHEREAS, the City Council finds that, in recent years, firearms <br />manufacturers have made token modifications to those handguns commonly known <br />as Saturday Night Specials." These modifications include: carbon steel breechface <br />inserts; solid steel barrel tubes; a eater number greater of steel linings incorporated in soft <br />castings; and cast stainless steel for revolver frames, pistol receivers and semi- <br />automatic slides. These modifications have resulted in no improvement, or only <br />marginal improvement, in the durability of the handguns; and <br />'vVHERE.AS, the City Council finds that, in recent years, firearms <br />manufacturers have grafted improvised safety devises onto the core designs of those <br />handguns commonly known as Saturday Night Specials. These devices include: <br />simple (and fragile) half-cock hammer notches in derringers and single-action <br />111) <br />revolvers; manual pistol slide locks; rudimentary hammer or trigger locks that act by <br />simple interference; and crude grip safety levers; and <br />WHEREAS, the City Council finds that such cosmetic remodeling by firearms <br />manufacturers does not ameliorate the core design deficiencies of Saturday Night <br />Special handguns. The City Council further finds that Saturdav Night Special <br />handguns continue to be dangerous products due to their low quality of manufacture <br />and metallurgy; and <br />WHEREAS, the City Council finds that a firearm's frame, barrel, breechblock, <br />cylinder and slide must be completely fabricated of heat treated carbon steel, forged <br />alloy or other material of equal or higher tensile strength in order to reliably contain <br />the weapon's ballistic power. The City Council further finds that any firearm in <br />which all of these components do not meet this standard is an inherently unsafe <br />product; and ' <br />WHEREAS, the City Council finds that firearms manufacturers have increased <br />the ballistic power of many semi -automatic pistols by chambering them to fire high <br />pressure ammunition. The City Council further finds that some manufacturers have <br />not incorporated the safety mechanisms necessary to contain the peak pressures <br />generated by such ballistic power and to prevent parts breakage from overstress; and <br />WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the action mechanism contained in <br />many currently produced derringers and single-action revolvers is based upon <br />century -old designs. The City Council further finds that such firearms are frequently <br />2 <br />150 <br />