Don’t Mix Guns and Alcohol

Police officers argue that they are on the job 24 hours a day. They routinely pack their firearms while off duty and out of uniform. And, in fact, they occasionally are in a position to interrupt a crime in process or apprehend fugitives in flight.

That does not, however, justify their exemption from a proposed law that would make it a crime for anyone to carry a loaded handgun while legally intoxicated. Evidence in a 1996 lawsuit against the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department turned up 17 alcohol-related gun incidents in the department since 1990. Fairly typical was the case of an off-duty woman deputy who, intoxicated, fought with a bouncer at a club and fired her gun, striking only a wall.

The measure, AB 675 by Assembly Majority Leader Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) would make it a misdemeanor or a felony--at the discretion of the prosecutor--for anyone to carry a loaded handgun while legally drunk. And under existing law, anyone convicted of a felony possession of a firearm may no longer possess a weapon. In the case of a misdemeanor, the ban may range up to 10 years. The standard for conviction would be that for drunk driving, a blood alcohol content of .08% or higher.

The measure is supported by the California Police Chiefs Assn. and the State Sheriffs’ Assn., including Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block. It is opposed by organizations that represent individual officers, including the Assn. for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs and the Peace Officer Research Assn. of California, which argue that undercover officers may need to drink to blend in on assignment.

Villaraigosa has agreed to an amendment to allow undercover officers to be excluded if they have advance approval to drink on the job. Even so, the opposition is seeking to kill the bill, which is being heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.

But Villaraigosa is absolutely right when he says that being legally drunk and carrying a loaded weapon is “a recipe for disaster,” no matter who the gun-toter may be. We appreciate the protection that off-duty police officers provide society by carrying their handguns, and using them with unimpaired judgment if necessary. But if they’re drunk? No, thanks.