Guns lost or stolen must be reported within 72 hours in T.O.
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

Tim Heyne knows firsthand the disaster that can result when someone intent on harming others has a gun. He knows how it feels to be shot three times and left for dead. He remembers what it was like to lose loved ones when a gunman used his weapon to take their lives.

During a shooting rampage that began outside a home in a quiet neighborhood in Thousand Oaks on Memorial Day 2005, Toby Whelchel, 38, killed Heyne's wife, Janice, a 51yearold Amgen employee, along with their friend Steve Mazin, a 52year-old attorney.

Whelchel also killed another woman in Santa Rosa Valley, beat her children and her pool service provider and shot a deputy. The killing spree ended the next day in Wal-Mart in Simi Valley when the gunman shot himself to death.

Heyne shared this tragic experience with the Thousand Oaks City Council before they voted 50 to support an ordinance requiring gun owners who discover one of their firearms lost or stolen to report it within 72 hours.

Former police officer and current Councilmember Dennis Gillette supported the ordinance, saying it wasn't about gun control but public safety.

The ordinance will mean that any person who fails to report a lost or stolen firearm- - when he knew or should have known about the theft or loss- - is guilty of a misdemeanor.

According to Police Chief Dennis Carpenter, the ordinance will help police more quickly trace a firearm used in a crime. It's also meant to deter straw purchases, that is, transactions involving a legal gun buyer selling a gun to a party who couldn't otherwise legally buy a weapon.

The city staff report noted that a 2000 report by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said 30 percent of all trafficked guns involved in their criminal investigations were obtained through straw purchases. The new ordinance would deter such activity because the excuse often used when a gun is traced back to a gun trafficker is, "The gun was stolen." Now that will no longer be an acceptable explanation.

Police Capt. Randy Pentis said there would be room for flexibility, and mitigating circumstances would be considered if someone took longer than 72 hours to report a lost or stolen firearm.

The ordinance was opposed by the National Rifle Association and the California Rifle & Pistol Association.

According to a city staff report, other U.S. cities, including Los Angeles and West Hollywood, are enacting the same type of ordinance to assist law enforcement agencies in determining the legal owners of guns.

The report suggested that crimes from the Los Angeles area will more easily move into Thousand Oaks if the city doesn't also have such an ordinance.

The ordinance applies to those who live or do business in the city.