Sunnyvale Stands Up to the NRA on Gun Safety

After the defeat of Manchin-Toomey and the Colorado recall election, you would think that the NRA couldn't lose another gun control battle. But they lost one Tuesday in Sunnyvale, CA, where voters overwhelmingly approved a measure requiring all guns not under the owner's direct control to be locked away, and limits all magazines to 10 rounds. The campaign drew financial support from Mayor Mike Bloomberg on the one hand and the NRA on the other, with the result provoking a threat from the NRA that they will sue to have the result overturned. Yeah, right.

Talk to anyone in law enforcement and they'll tell you that gun violence, like all violence, is best controlled in and by the local communities where it takes place. And while legislative battles in Washington get all the headlines, when it comes to guns, enforcement at the state and local level is what really counts. The NRA lost another big battle recently in California when Jerry Brown approved a new bill that basically outlaws the use of lead ammunition throughout the Golden State.

Sunnyvale could be an isolated incident but it also might be the beginning of a new trend. The Mayor of Sunnyvale, Anthony Spitaleri, is a member of Bloomberg's organization, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which now boasts 1,000 mayoral members, and you can be sure that many of them will ask Spitaleri for advice on how to push a similar measure in their own city or town. California might be the place where people who want a fresh start go out West, but it's also a place where new political movements take root and spread back East. Remember a guy named Reagan?