In response to the 2023 mass shooting in Monterey Park, the city council of Alhambra discussed three ordinances in late September to curb gun violence and passed one, but is it enough? 

That was the gist of many comments that night.

The first ordinance was passed immediately as an “urgency” measure to stop the sales of firearms within 1,000 feet of homes, schools, and community centers — and a 45-day hold on construction for new firearm businesses.

The second is a safe storage ordinance that would require residents to store their guns in a locked container or have them properly disabled in their homes. Under the proposed ordinance, the resident could potentially face felony charges if a child or adult causes harm or death using their gun that was not properly stored. It was finalized and approved at the October council meeting.

The third would no longer allow anyone — except law enforcement — to carry loaded firearms on any city-owned property. But that ordinance was not ultimately approved. Council members could not be reached for updates about it, however, a staff report for the next council meeting noted that when it comes to the last ordinance, a state law “addresses those same sensitive place and restrictions” so staff recommends the city not move forward with that law.

The safe storage ordinance could have the greatest potential to curb mass shootings, experts say, because the National Institute of Justice reports that over 80% of mass shootings that happen in K-12 schools involve people who have stolen guns from their family members. 

At the October meeting, one opponent of the gun laws said they were not “fully hashed out” and it seems unfair to ask residents to pay for a gun lock after they’ve already purchased a gun and not budgeted for a lock.

“Are you going to pay for it?” resident Jeffrey Gomez said at the October council meeting. “We have laws addressing safe storage of firearms.”

Several residents said at the September meeting that they felt the ordinances are a good start but that gun control laws need to go further. For instance, Melissa Michelson noted the state of Washington’s recent ban on the sale of certain semi-automatic weapons.

“Unfortunately I feel like this does not prevent the actions of gun violence, if a person wants to cause harm they will cause harm,” Katy Chen, an Alhambra resident and environmental commissioner for the city, said at the Sept. 25 city council meeting. 

“We can never guarantee that there is no gun violence, no accidental shooting,” Councilmember Katherine Lee said at the council meeting.

But she believes the ordinances are a step in the right direction.

Updated Dec. 16: This story was updated to note that the council did approve all of the ordinances.

Updated Feb. 11: This story was updated to note which ordinances were passed and which one was not passed, and to add a quote from someone who provided an alternate perspective.