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In passing a 1996 ordinance banning Saturday Night Specials, the town of West Hollywood broke new legislative ground, leading the way for 31 cities and counties in California to adopt similar legislation. In fact, virtually all of the local governments in California who have followed suit have used language identical to or similar to the West Hollywood ordinance.
West Hollywood drafted its law to broaden the
definition of a Saturday Night Special from that used in the 1968 Gun
Control Act, recognizing that in recent years, manufacturers of SaturdayNight Specials have made "token modifications" to their handguns in attempts to skirt existing regulations.
West Hollywood defines a Saturday Night Special has any handgun where a gun's main assembly (i.e. the frame, barrel, breechlock, cylinder and slide) are not completely fabricated out of heat treated carbon steel, forged alloy or other material of equal or higher tensile strength. Because the inferiorquality of the alloys these parts are made of, the gun cannot reliably contain its own ballistic power. This means they are chambered to fire high pressure ammunition without the reliable ability to contain the pressures generated by the force of a bullet leaving the gun's chamber and barrel. Also, many currently produced derringers and single action revolvers that derive from century-old designs which were not intended for the blast put out by ammunition being sold today, are targeted by this legislation. This regulation requires the chief of police to maintain a roster of guns banned from sale or manufacture in the city. This ordinance was passed on April 15, 1996.
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