In light of the violent attacks in Hillcrest, some folks have asked some unusual questions about guns, gangs and hate crimes.

Rather than trying one’s luck with self-defense against a mob of gun-toting robbers, one resident asked if he could carry a gun.

California punishes persons who carry a concealed weapon, such as a gun. Persons seeking to carry a concealed gun must receive a permit from the sheriff. But this could change if California follows the lead of other states and decriminalizes carrying concealed weapons.

Carrying a concealed weapon is generally punishable as a misdemeanor. The punishment is greater if the person carrying the gun is involved in a crime or has a previous criminal record (see California Penal Code sec. 12025).

The reality is there are a lot of people, particularly women, who do carry “Saturday Night Specials,” small-caliber guns.

In order to search someone to look for a weapon, a police officer must have, at the very least, reasonable suspicion that the person is “armed and dangerous.” Law-abiding folks walking around Hillcrest are hardly likely to be stopped and searched by law enforcement.

I’m not advocating that persons arm themselves. Deadly force is privileged in only those cases where one’s life, not property, is in peril.

The problem, though, is that recent events here suggest that criminals are not just using threats, fists or bats. Rather, they’re using guns and knives. They don’t just want a wallet; they want to inflict great bodily injury, even death.

Given the shortage of police and escalating signs of criminal behavior in our midst, I understand the desperation some are feeling. Not that long ago, a man in New York, fed up with muggers using ice picks to rob people on subways, opened fire when robbers attacked him. Bernie Goetz’s act of vigilantism struck chords in millions of New Yorkers, while police reacted in horror.

Amazingly enough, the city hired more police and got tough on street crime.

Other locals have asked about the legality of gangs. With the passage of the Patriot Act(s), being a member of a so-called “terrorist group” will get you arrested. You may simply languish in some jail, and not even one in the U.S. But if you’re a member of a street gang, responsible for inflicting domestic terrorism, that gets you respect, a record contract and a line of clothing.

Years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court, when faced with laws criminalizing membership in the then-reviled Communist Party, held that membership in a political group is protected by the First Amendment’s guarantees of freedom of speech and association. But the Supreme Court has never said that membership in street gangs, which associate/organize exclusively to conduct violent crime, is somehow protected by the Constitution. It’s not.

Los Angeles has hundreds of street gangs involving tens of thousands of (mostly) young men. The community is facing a wave of crime, including hate crimes.

Those crimes, however, don’t involve white racists attacking minority youth and adults.

In fact, the latest stats show Latino and black gangs attacking each other. Worse, they attack completely innocent children who just happen to be the wrong color. Race wars that used to be confined to our prisons now appear to be taking shape in Los Angeles.

Those of us in District 3 (Hillcrest, Mission Hills, University Heights, North Park and Normal Heights), need to keep gangs out of here. In the past, it was skinheads – white youth mainly mobilized to attack gays and lesbians. Today, it seems like we’re prey for all gangs.

We need City Attorney Mike Aguirre and District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis to seek street gang injunctions that prohibit gang members from entering this new turf to wage violent crime.

Furthermore, at the state and federal level, we need to make clear that membership in violent street gangs is illegal itself. When a gang is involved in a crime, all members – like in any conspiracy – should be jointly responsible for the acts of the other members.

Perhaps we need to send a message to President Bush, Mayor Jerry Sanders and District 3 City Councilmember Toni Atkins that the “war on terror” begins at home.