SAN DIEGO — The San Diego City Council Tuesday unanimously passed the Ira Sharp Firearm Dealer Accountability Act, which requires gun dealers bidding on city contracts to follow all state and federal firearm laws to curb the proliferation of "crime guns."
Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert, who authored the legislation, said it would leverage the city's purchasing power to ensure good actors.
"We need clear protocols to ensure that our city does not conduct business with firearm dealers that have histories of unlawful transfers, including sales to straw purchasers, failures to perform background checks, or have failed to follow essential documentation procedures," von Wilpert said. "By using the purchasing power of the city, the ordinance before us will compel the firearms industry and its dealers to take accountability for their business practices and help keep crime guns off the street."
Specifically, the act requires vendors to:
- Complete all federal and state inspections without violations
- Implement security measures to prevent the theft or loss of firearms
- Not have been cited for selling to prohibited persons including gun traffickers and straw purchasers
The act is named after the late San Diego gun violence prevention advocate Ira Sharp, and is intended to build on the efforts of national gun safety organization Brady -- named after James Brady, press secretary for then- President Ronald Reagan, who was shot by John Hinckley Jr. in a 1981 assassination attempt.
Brady died in 2014, with his death ruled a homicide from the gunshot he suffered 33 years earlier.
"The city of San Diego heeded our data-driven findings with thoughtfulness and ingenuity to build a blueprint for firearms procurement reform that we hope to see sweep the nation," Brady president Kris Brown said. "By passing this ordinance, the city is assuring that taxpayer dollars will be spent on responsible gun dealers and not those who are fueling this uniquely American crisis that is the number one killer of our kids."
Before contracting with the city, firearm dealers will now be required to submit federal and state inspection reports to confirm that they have no outstanding violations, as well as respond to a series of inquiries regarding recording keeping, steps taken to prevent unauthorized sales, and security measures to prevent loss and theft of firearms.
According to the Brady organization, taxpayers are the number one buyer of firearms in America, spending more than $5 billion a year through government contracts to buy guns and ammunition for law enforcement agencies.
At least 90 California law enforcement agencies purchased firearms from dealers that did not follow all applicable gun laws, including ones that have been cited for violations of federal and state law ranging from failing to complete required background checks to losing customer paperwork critical to law enforcement investigations, the group said.
"Taxpayer dollars should not be used to purchase firearms and ammunition from dealers that skirt the law and expose our communities to public safety threats," City Attorney Mara Elliott said. "This legislation reflects our city's values by creating responsible common sense safety standards for firearm purchases."
The act applies to contracts for firearms and ammunition that the city enters to equip the San Diego Police Department.
"The San Diego Police Department is working to reduce gun violence alongside our city and regional partners," said Paul Connelly, SDPD executive assistant chief. "SDPD is issuing gun violence restraining orders, investigating the illegal sales and manufacturing of ghost guns, and getting illegal guns off the streets through proactive police work.
"This ordinance will ensure that we, too, are doing our part as purchasers of firearms and ammunition for our officers, to eliminate support of negligent firearms dealers," Connelly said.
WATCH RELATED: Ghost guns on the rise in San Diego County, per ATF officials (Oct 2023)