Anti-Gang Bill Wins Backing of Senate Panel

A key Senate committee approved legislation Tuesday to crack down on the kind of crimes committed by Los Angeles street gangs whose members are “ready to kill at the drop of a hat,” according to Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner.

Heavily armed gang members are killing an average of two people a day on the streets of Los Angeles and becoming big-time narcotics peddlers, Reiner said in a statement.

In brief, the measure would make it a crime to actively participate in a street gang with knowledge that its members intend to engage in criminal activity or to willfully promote such conduct. It also calls for forfeiture of property acquired by gang-related activities and authorizes victims to file civil actions against gangs.

A 6-0 vote sent the bill by Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Van Nuys) to the Appropriations Committee, where substantial amendments are expected. A similar measure stalled in the Assembly Public Safety Committee on Monday amid opposition from civil liberties groups.

Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) voted for the bill but extracted a promise from Robbins that the author would delay a floor vote for at least two weeks while amendments are drafted.

Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles), another supporter, said some neighborhoods in East Los Angeles are “under siege” by street gangs.

“You cannot walk across the street in some parts of East Los Angeles, whether you are a child, an adult or a senior citizen,” Torres said, “without being subject to the type of harassment that these gang members provide.”

Sen. Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward), committee chairman, who abstained from voting, said, “This bill could have justified the internment of the Japanese in World War II. If that feels good to you, vote for it.” Robbins denied the charge.

Reiner said there are 400 to 500 street gangs in Los Angeles County under the umbrella of two major organizations, the Crips and the Bloods. He estimated total membership of both groups at 40,000 to 50,000.

“The problem of gangs is underestimated by everyone other than those who are either directly involved in law enforcement dealing with them or people who live in communities that are overwhelmed by the gangs,” Reiner said.

“One-half of these gang members are over 18 years of age. They are well armed. They carry Uzi and Mac-10 machine guns, sawed-off shotguns and semi-automatic rifles. They outgun police officers when they have these weapons.

“Right now, the gangs are active in narcotics trafficking. Large-scale Colombian cocaine distributors are starting to deal directly with street gangs because they are street-wise, highly organized and willing to be as vicious as necessary in order to enforce drug trafficking. They are willing to kill at the drop of a hat.”

Reiner also said it is important that law enforcement go after street gangs as organized units, which he said they cannot do now, instead of as individuals.

An opponent, Marjorie C. Swartz of the American Civil Liberties Union, argued that law enforcement agencies can use existing laws to accomplish the same goal proposed by Robbins’ bill.

Swartz said the bill is unconstitutional because “what you are doing is punishing them (gang members) for their association, not for their involvement in serious criminal activity.”

The California Attorneys for Criminal Justice and the California Public Defenders Assn. also oppose the bill.

There have been more than 200 gang killings this year in Los Angeles County, according to Reiner, which represents an 80% increase over 1986, when there were 325 gang killings.

The projected 1987 total is 585 gang killings, if they continue at the present rate.

A co-sponsor of the legislation, Los Angeles City Atty. James Hahn, said, “I don’t have to tell you this isn’t ‘West Side Story’ we’re dealing with here. It’s vicious criminals, a lot of kids, plus an even higher percentage of young adults, who organize to deal drugs, pull armed robberies, burglaries and--if anybody gets in their way--to kill people.”

The Assembly version of the bill is by Assemblywoman Gwen Moore (D-Los Angeles).

It bogged down in the Public Safety Committee on Monday, when Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Mike Roos (D-Los Angeles) expressed serious reservations about it.

Contributing to this story was Times staff writer Paul Feldman.