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Roger Gathers, 1212 Harvest Road, asked if any of the Councilmembers had read any of the material given to them. He was told Whit Collins was a gun expert. He said Whit Collins is a historian and felt he was acting outside his area of expertise. Mr. Collins is not certified nor is he a technical expert, he is only a consultant for Handgun Control Inc. He said his question as to whether Whit Collins was paid out of city funds had not been answered and why was not a real gun expert consulted? He asked where he could get a copy of the roster? (Ms. Dennis handed him a copy of the roster.) Ms. Michelotti said she explained at the last meeting why she met with Whit Collins and the people from the National Rifle Association. Mr. Gathers felt the questions he raised had not yet been answered. Dorene Paradiso, 3168 Paseo Granada, chair of a Pleasanton community group, "Citizens for Personal Responsibility," introduced Bruce Morgan. (Mayor Tarver arrived at 10:16 p.m.) Bruce Morgan, 2532 College Avenue, Livermore, described his experience in ballistics. He said there are no firearms manufactured in the United States today that are unsafe as they come from the factory. There are no manufacturers that have not gone through an engineering process in the design and manufacture of their firearms. If the businesses were manufacturing and distributing unsafe firearms they would not be in business today. He said Council is faced with a group of people who dislike firearms in general, who came up with a handy term "junk guns". These firearms are frequently manufactured using state of the art manufacturing techniques that result in less expensive firearms. The materials used may not be the traditional materials. But using other material should not classify the guns as "junk guns". He said none of the firearms listed on the roster should fall under concern because of the materials or design. He said he had fired about half of the guns on the roster, and if he felt his life was in jeopardy, he would not have done this. He has done a considerable amount of testing on the firearms for accuracy. He referred to a slide of a firearm made of carbon steel, which he obtained from Whit Collins. Whir Collins used the slide as an example of a firearm that failed due to a hit space tolerance. But the firearm actually failed due to an overpressure in one of the chambers or a bore obstruction. He felt Mr. Collins expertise should be questioned. He said the specifications in the ordinance are so general that it would cover anywhere from one-third to one-half of the guns manufactured today. He said a considerable number of firearms are made with stainless steel frames and other pans. Stainless steel by definition is not a carbon steel so any firearm made with this metal would be outlawed by this ordinance. He said the ordinance is poorly written and incompetent and felt the ordinance was trying to uninvent technology. He said this is a legislative ploy to eventually get rid of all handguns. Also if the handguns are safe for police officers to use, why not the citizens. He said he would be willing to examine the design of the firearms on the roster. Pleasanton City Council 3/03/98 Minutes 20