In the wake of the tragic police officer deaths over the weekend, there’s a renewed call for tougher gun control laws. Don Perata, who launched his political career on gun control issues, is among the voices calling for a crackdown. Now, we’re all for gun control here at the Express, but let’s be clear – AK-47s, the gun Lovelle Mixon used to fatally shoot two of the four Oakland cops he killed on Saturday, are already illegal in California. Yes, the federal assault weapons ban expired five years ago and it should be renewed. But re-upping the federal law would likely do little to stop another incident from happening again in Oakland, or anywhere else in our state. The reason is that there’s a tremendous black market for assault weapons. If there’s going to be a crackdown, then state and local agencies should make going after assault weapon sales and possession a higher priority.
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