Bill on Long-Gun Wait Sent to Governor : Gun control: The measure imposes 15-day waiting period on purchases of rifles and shotguns. Deukmejian seems to waver on earlier support.

The Assembly on Thursday narrowly passed and sent to Gov. George Deukmejian a bill abolishing the Old West tradition of cash-and-carry sales of hunting rifles and shotguns in California and replacing it with a 15-day waiting period.

The heavily lobbied bill would impose the delay on the purchase of so-called long guns while law enforcement authorities check the purchaser’s background for a history of crime or mental instability. The procedure would be unique in the nation, though other states employ other forms of background checks.

Deukmejian, a staunch opponent of new controls on firearms until a crazed gunman armed with an assault rifle murdered five schoolchildren in Stockton last year, indicated last week that, barring any major changes, he would sign the bill by Assemblyman Lloyd Connelly (D-Sacramento).

But shortly after the Assembly vote, Republican Deukmejian seemed to be hesitating in his support. He said he still “strongly supports” the concept of preventing criminals and the mentally ill from buying guns, but he wants to “review carefully” whether the bill provides the “best method” for doing so.

Proponents argued that the bill’s potential for saving lives far outweighs the inconvenience to law-abiding rifle and shotgun buyers. The backers contended a “cooling-off” period would curb killings of “impulse and passion.”

But Republican opponents argued that any wait is unnecessary because technology is available to create a computerized system for “instant” background checks, a proposal favored by the National Rifle Assn.

Following a tense, one-hour debate, the bill passed on a 42-25 vote, one more than required in the 80-member Assembly. The bill was strongly supported by top law enforcement officers and Handgun Control Inc., but stiffly opposed by the National Rifle Assn.

Approval of the bill represented another election-year defeat for the politically active gun owner organization. The Connelly bill generally is regarded as much farther reaching than the ban on assault weapons enacted last year by the Legislature and Deukmejian over NRA opposition.

Forty-one Democrats and a single Republican--surprisingly, gun owner Assemblyman Stan Statham of Oak Run, who represents a substantial constituency of rural hunters and sportsmen in Northern California--cast the favorable votes.

Twenty-three Republicans and two Democrats--freshmen Sal Cannella of Modesto and Willard H. Murray Jr. of Paramount--voted against it. Ten Republicans and Democrat Richard E. Floyd of Carson abstained.

“There are so many killings that occur in the heat of passion that there is nothing the matter with a two-week cooling-off period,” Statham said. “This bill will do a lot to stop the crazed, erratic impulse buying of guns.”

Statham was heavily lobbied in November by Sarah Brady, chairwoman of Handgun Control and wife of former White House Press Secretary James Brady, who was crippled in the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.

A supporter of the bill said Sarah Brady was the guest of Statham and his wife at a conference of state legislators in Monterey. “She lobbied him for a whole weekend,” the source said. On Thursday, Statham was credited with casting the breakthrough Assembly vote.

Since 1974, buyers of pistols and revolvers in California have waited for 15 days before they can take possession of their firearms. If a background check discloses that the purchaser has committed a serious crime or suffered mental illness, the sale is canceled.

The Connelly bill would extend basically the same restrictions to purchasers of long guns and would put such firearms out of the reach of individuals who had been detained by authorities for an involuntary 72-hour psychiatric examination and criminals convicted of violent and gun-related misdemeanors. It would go into effect Jan. 1, 1991.

Additionally, the unregulated casual sales of long guns between private individuals would be subject to the waiting period and would have to go through a licensed dealer. Critics long have complained that guns privately transferred often end up in the hands of criminals and the mentally unstable.

The Department of Justice estimates that background checks would be run on about 1 million long gun purchasers annually, in addition to the 300,000 checks performed each year on handgun buyers.

Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts and New Jersey require that prospective long gun purchasers obtain a permit from law enforcement before buying a firearm. The criminal background checks can take two weeks or more.

During the Assembly debate, Connelly read aloud the names of Californians who were fatally shot during the past few months by long guns purchased shortly before the killings. Included were the two little daughters of Betty Morgan of Yuba City, who were shot by their father with a newly purchased long gun. He then killed himself.

“The gun owners I’ve talked to, virtually without exception, are willing to suffer that (15-day wait) inconvenience so Mrs. Morgan doesn’t have the kind of inconvenience she had up in Yuba City,” Connelly declared.

The Assembly vote:

Democrats for (41): Areias, Los Banos; Bane, Tarzana; Bates, Oakland; Bronzan, Fresno; Brown, San Francisco; Burton, San Francisco; Calderon, Whittier; Campbell, Richmond; Chacon, San Diego; Connelly, Sacramento; Cortese, San Jose; Costa, Fresno; Eastin, Union City; Eaves, Rialto; Elder, Long Beach; Epple, Norwalk; Farr, Carmel; Friedman, Los Angeles; Hannigan, Fairfield; Harris, Oakland; Hauser, Arcata; Hayden, West Los Angeles; Hughes, Los Angeles; Isenberg, Sacramento; Johnston, Stockton; Katz, Sylmar; Klehs, Castro Valley; Lempert, San Mateo; Moore, Los Angeles; O’Connell, Carpinteria; Peace, La Mesa; Polanco, Los Angeles; Roos, Los Angeles; Roybal-Allard, Los Angeles; Sher, Palo Alto; Speier, S. San Francisco; Tanner, Baldwin Park; Tucker, Inglewood; Vasconcellos, Santa Clara; M. Waters, Los Angeles; N. Waters, Plymouth.

Republicans for (1): Statham, Oak Run.

Democrats against (2): Cannella, Modesto; Murray, Paramount.

Republicans against (23): Bader, Pomona; Baker, Danville; Bentley, El Cajon; D. Brown, Los Alamitos; Chandler, Yuba City; Clute, Riverside; Felando, San Pedro; Ferguson, Newport Beach; Frazee, Carlsbad; Frizzelle, Huntington Beach; Harvey, Bakersfield; Hill, Whittier; Hunter, San Diego; Johnson, La Habra; Lewis, Orange; McClintock, Thousand Oaks; Mountjoy, Monrovia; Nolan, Glendale; Pringle, Garden Grove; Seastrand, Salinas; Woodruff, Yucaipa; Wright, Simi Valley; Wyman, Tehachapi.

Not voting (11): Allen (R-Cypress); Filante (R-Greenbrae); Floyd, (D-Carson); Hansen (R-Santa Rosa); Jones (R-Fresno); Kelley (R-Hemet); LaFollette (R-Northridge); Lancaster (R-Covina); Leslie (R-Carmichael); Mojonnier (R-Encinitas); Quackenbush (R-Saratoga).

Absent (1): Margolin (D-Los Angeles). Vacancy 1.