Takings guns from gangs

In an effort to crack down on gun violence that last year alone killed or wounded more than 2,000 Angelenos, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and top law enforcement officials unveiled a plan Thursday that would allow officers to evict gun-wielding gang members from apartments and seize their cars. Daily News.

Expanding on a 2007 anti-gang initiative, Villaraigosa also is pushing city laws that would prohibit the sale of .50-caliber military-style ammunition, expand the tracking of ammunition sales and ban the installation of secret firearms compartments in cars.

"As far as we're concerned, gangs and guns are public enemy No.1," Villaraigosa said at a City Hall news conference with other law enforcement officials from the city, county and federal government.

The effort comes just two months before the city's anti-gang programs will be placed under Villaraigosa's office. But it is already being opposed by the gun industry and criticized by civil-rights activists who say it goes too far.