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Armed While On Duty / Park Rangers / Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) / Section 63.41 / Amendment

Council File 20-0190

Under review — park rangers' push to carry firearms is back before the Public Safety Committee after a failed Council vote, with a hearing scheduled for June 2026 to weigh safety concerns against community concerns about armed rangers in public spaces.

Introduced
2020-02-11
Last changed
2026-06-10
Status
open
Expires
2028-06-10
Committee
Arts, Parks, Libraries, and Community Enrichment Committee
Mover
JOHN S. LEE
Second
TIM MCOSKER

Brief

Councilmember John S. Lee moved to amend LAMC Section 63.41 to authorize armed park rangers during their shifts. The proposal generated numerous neighborhood council impact statements from 2020 onward. After approval by the Arts, Parks committee in 2021, the item was rereferred to committees in January 2023. Council voted 9-5-1 to reject the motion on October 7, 2025, but it remains formally open and was scheduled for Public Safety Committee discussion on June 10, 2026.

Full summary

Council File 20-0190 proposes amending LAMC Section 63.41 to permit Los Angeles park rangers to carry firearms while on duty. Councilmember John S. Lee, who introduced the motion in February 2020 and reintroduced a version in January 2026 with Councilmember Tim McOsker seconding, argues that rangers face serious and growing threats in the parks. The motion notes that between January 2021 and October 2022 alone there were 21 assaults on police officers and park rangers in city parks, that rangers have repeatedly had to summon LAPD to handle gun, knife, and shooting incidents, and that hundreds of firearms have been recovered in city parks in recent years. Lee also points to declining LAPD staffing as a reason to expand ranger capabilities. The motion makes two substantive directives. First, it asks the City Attorney, with help from the Department of Recreation and Parks and the LAPD, to draft an ordinance amending LAMC Section 63.41 to allow rangers to be armed while on duty, consistent with what state law already permits. Second, it directs RAP and LAPD to establish use-of-force policies, training requirements, and investigatory standards through a Memorandum of Understanding, with the explicit goal of holding armed rangers to the same standards as sworn LAPD officers. The motion emphasizes that rangers are already sworn law enforcement officers, police academy graduates trained alongside LAPD recruits, and are required to hold four-year degrees — a higher bar than many other agencies. It notes that state park rangers and rangers with the Mountains and Recreation Conservation Authority are already armed, making LA's rangers an outlier. The file has traveled a lengthy and complicated path since 2020. It moved through several committee referrals — initially to the Health, Education, Neighborhoods, Parks, Arts, and River Committee, then to various successor committees following Council reorganizations — and was approved by the Arts, Parks, Health, Education, and Neighborhoods Committee in November 2021. The file expired under City Clerk policy in November 2023, but Lee moved in September 2025 to reactivate it and restore it to its prior legislative status. That reactivation motion went to the full Council on October 7, 2025, where it failed 9-5-1. Despite that rejection, the file was not closed: a new motion dated January 2026 was referred to both the Arts, Parks, Libraries, and Community Enrichment Committee and the Public Safety Committee, and the Public Safety Committee scheduled the item for a hearing on June 10, 2026. The proposal drew sustained community attention throughout its history, with at least 14 neighborhood councils submitting Community Impact Statements from 2020 through early 2026, representing a range of viewpoints from across the city — including filings from Encino, Los Feliz, Echo Park, Silver Lake, Sunland-Tujunga, Historic Highland Park, Studio City, and others. The file remains open with an expiration date of June 2028.

Activity (30)

  • 2026-06-10 Public Safety Committee approved item(s) .
  • 2026-06-05 Public Safety Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on June 10, 2026.
  • 2026-03-19 Community Impact Statement submitted by Encino Neighborhood Council.
  • 2026-01-21 Motion referred to Arts, Parks, Libraries, and Community Enrichment Committee; Public Safety Committee.
  • 2025-11-04 Community Impact Statement submitted by Los Feliz Neighborhood Council.
  • 2025-10-08 Council action final.
  • 2025-10-08 Community Impact Statement submitted by Lake Balboa Neighborhood Council.
  • 2025-10-07 Motion (Lee - Blumenfield) failed of adoption.
  • 2025-10-03 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on October 7, 2025.
  • 2025-09-26 Motion referred to Council.
  • 2023-11-09 File expired per City Clerk policy, Council file No. 05-0553.
  • 2023-01-13 Council rereferred item to Neighborhoods and Community Enrichment Committee, pursuant to Council Action of January 13, 2023, Council File No. 23-2000.
  • 2022-03-09 Community Impact Statement submitted by Studio City Neighborhood Council.
  • 2022-01-30 Community Impact Statement submitted by Echo Park Neighborhood Council.
  • 2021-12-09 Community Impact Statement submitted by Encino Neighborhood Council.
  • 2021-11-09 Arts, Parks, Health, Education, and Neighborhoods Committee approved item(s) .
  • 2021-09-16 Community Impact Statement submitted by Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council.
  • 2021-03-16 Community Impact Statement submitted by Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council.
  • 2021-02-27 Community Impact Statement submitted by Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council.
  • 2021-02-12 Community Impact Statement submitted by Mid City WEST Neighborhood Council.
  • 2021-01-12 Council rereferred item to Arts, Parks, Health, Education, and Neighborhoods Committee; Public Safety Committee, pursuant to Council Action of January 12, 2021, Council File No. 21-2000.
  • 2020-12-02 Corrected Referral per Council President to include Public Safety Committee.
  • 2020-10-22 Community Impact Statement submitted by Arleta Neighborhood Council.
  • 2020-08-18 Community Impact Statement submitted by Echo Park Neighborhood Council.
  • 2020-08-04 Community Impact Statement submitted by Silver Lake Neighborhood Council.
  • 2020-06-12 Community Impact Statement submitted by Tarzana Neighborhood Council.
  • 2020-06-03 Community Impact Statement submitted by Los Feliz Neighborhood Council,Los Feliz Neighborhood Council.
  • 2020-05-26 Community Impact Statement submitted by Foothill Trails District Neighborhood Council.
  • 2020-04-16 Community Impact Statement submitted by Hollywood United Neighborhood Council.
  • 2020-02-11 Motion document(s) referred to Health, Education, Neighborhoods, Parks, Arts, and River Committee.

Documents (89)

Council votes (1)

  • 2025-10-07 Vote — 9-5-1 · Regular

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