(Police photo shows sample of small pistol covered by L.A. restriction)
The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to remove an unusual ban on the sales of certain tiny handguns at gun stores within city limits.
Council president Herb Wesson put the item to a vote with no discussion and it passed unanimously.
The City Attorney's Office requested the removal of the law. It had been in effect since 2001, when the City made it illegal to sell guns smaller than a size chosen by the City Council.
No one was ever charged with violating the law, according to the City Attorney's Office, and its removal was apparently prompted by changes in state laws and threat of legal action by the California Rifle and Pistol Association.
Purchase and possession of small handguns described by the city ban have been legal under California law all along.