A coalition of disabled target shooters, women gunowners and small-handed shooters plans to file a lawsuit challenging Los Angeles city attorney/candidate Michael Feuer’s ordinance that bans the sale or loan of any firearm under 6&Mac186; inches long or 4&Mac251; inches high within the city of Los Angeles.

The ordinance passed on a second reading on March 28 and takes effect in late April.

The lawsuit alleges that the ordinance discriminates against and violates the civil rights of women, the disabled, and small-statured shooters who, because of their smaller hands, cannot safely and accurately use the large firearms to which they would be limited under the ordinance. The plaintiffs’ also allege that Feuer’s ordinance conflicts with and is preempted by a new state law (Penal Code section 12125-12133), that only allows specifically approved handguns to be sold in the state, and that expressly authorizes for sale many of the guns that the ordinance would prohibit.

The handgun ban was passed upon the recommendation of a nine-member “task force.” Many members have publicly advocated a complete ban on the private possession of handguns or all guns. The task force report distorted Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) tracing statistics to claim that 56% of the top 10 “traced” handguns were under the size that will now be prohibited by the ordinance. The statistics actually reveal, however, that just about 7% of the handguns banned by the LA ordinance regulating size were recovered among the top 10 traced firearms.

“This insensitive ordinance completely ignores the needs of disabled and small-handed target shooters,” said civil rights attorney Chuck Michel, who represents the plaintiffs. “The task force purposely excluded anyone with an opposing viewpoint.”

“The reality is that this is more about Michael Feuer’s campaign for city attorney than about public safety,” Michel said. “The only public safety that is going to be changed by this ordinance is the safety of our clients—because the bigger-framed firearms that are left for them to use in target shooting or for defending themselves or their families are, in their hands, less accurate and less safe.”

Apparently caught off guard by the complaints of disabled and small-handed shooters who opposed the ordinance, city attorney/candidate Feuer has attempted to dismiss their pleas by claiming that his ordinance would not affect available grip sizes or the weight of a firearm.

Although a bigger grip can be placed on a smaller gun, the reverse is not true. And depending on the individual shooter’s disability or strength level, a heavier gun or a shorter barrel gun may be necessary.

Small-handed shooter problems with larger firearms have confronted a number of police departments across the country, including the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). In fact, an LAPD report was generated in response to a civil rights complaint made by a small-handed LAPD recruit.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles City Council continues to juggle proposals that would ban the sale of certain ammunition calibers in the city or require an annualized $14 license to buy ammunition.