WUERCH FIRES AT POLICY
MAYOR WOULD LET RESIDENTS POSSESS MACHINE GUNS

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By Karen Aho
Anchorage Daily News Reporter
WUERCH FIRES AT POLICY
MAYOR WOULD LET RESIDENTS POSSESS MACHINE GUNS

By Karen Aho
Daily News Reporter

(Published August 12, 2000)
Fulfilling a campaign promise he made to gun owners, Mayor George Wuerch
has proposed a way for Anchorage citizens to legally buy machine guns,
short-barreled shotguns, silencers and hand grenades.

The weapons are permitted under federal law, but only for people who
have been cleared by their local police department. For much of the past
two decades, sitting police chiefs in Anchorage have refused to review
the federal application forms, saying they don’t want to be held liable
should the gun owner use the weapon in a crime.

Wuerch, a retired Marine and a National Rifle Association member, on
Friday proposed that a citizen board review and sign off on the forms
instead. It is the first board he has proposed since taking office July
1.

“I do not like the federal regulation,” Wuerch said at a press
conference Friday. “It’s another encroachment on the right to buy and
sell arms.”

Wuerch said he was assured by the municipal attorney that the city would
not be liable under his proposal.

The proposed ordinance would not take effect unless approved by the
Anchorage Assembly. A public hearing has not yet been scheduled.

Anchorage Police Chief Duane Udland said Friday that as the proposal is
written, the city could be “reasonably certain that the person will not
use (the weapon) for unlawful purposes.” He referred other questions to
the mayor’s office.

The subject is a hot-button issue among police agencies. In Alaska,
departments are split on whether or not they will review the
applications. Residents, who are required to go to their local agency,
are at the whim of what some say boils down to political philosophy.

To many in law enforcement, it’s a matter of public safety, said Terry
Vrabec, chief of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Police Department.

“I don’t think there would be anyone that wouldn’t be concerned about
what weapons we’re allowing on the streets or seeing on the streets,”
said Vrabec, who is secretary of the Alaska Association of Chiefs of
Police.

Alaska State Troopers refuse to process the forms. That means no one in
state police jurisdiction can legally buy the weapons. Del Smith, deputy
commissioner of the state Department of Public Safety, said he doesn’t
want the state signing off on the form.

” ‘I, Del Smith, certify that this person is probably going to use this
for lawful purposes’ — We think that’s prospective and very difficult
to predict,” he said.

Police agencies say few people want to buy the weapons covered by the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms regulation, which include guns
disguised as pens or canes. Anchorage police get only “a handful” of
requests a year, police Sgt. Richard Stouff said.

Fairbanks police, who get very few requests, do sign off on them after a
review. Deputy Police Chief James Welch said studies show that legal
buyers generally don’t use the weapons to commit crimes.

“There’s no requirement to do it for everyone. There’s also no liability
associated with it,” he said.

The Wuerch administration said it heard complaints from gun owners that
police chiefs here have showed favoritism. A citizen board, appointed by
the mayor and approved by the Assembly, would alleviate any inequities,
said Dennis Fradley, the mayor’s director of external affairs.

The board would review the information required in the application and
then decide whether to approve the federal form. Much of the
information, such as an extensive criminal background check, would be
compiled by police.

“This was a big issue at the gun show, during the campaign,” Fradley
said. “It is one of the commitments (Wuerch) made.”

Reporter Tim Pryor contributed to this story. Reporter Karen Aho can be
reached at [email protected]