Violent felons are now banned from owning body armor such as the bullet-proof padding used by two bank robbers in 1997's infamous North Hollywood shootout with the LAPD under a state law signed Wednesday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The legislation was necessary because an appeals court last year overturned a similar law for being too vague, according to state Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), who authored SB 408. "Violent felons wearing body armor pose a dangerous threat to our communities and especially to our men and women in law enforcement,'' Schwarzenegger said.

In 1997, two bank robbers wearing body armor exchanged hundreds of rounds of gunfire with LAPD officers in a takeover robbery at a Bank of America in North Hollywood. Some of the bullets fired by police were deflected by the body armor worn by the robbers. The battle left 11 officers and seven civilians wounded. The two robbers were eventually killed by police during the shoot-out.

A law banning convicted felons from owning body armor was approved by the state in 1998 but the appeals court tossed it out in December 2009. Recent incidents involving attacks on law enforcement officers show that the law is still needed, Padilla said.

He cited a March 19 incident after a high-speed chase in Los Angeles in which a parolee with 19 arrests and four convictions was found to be wearing body armor. Padilla also noted that a bullet-proof vest was found on a man arrested Jan. 20 on suspicion of killing eight people in Virginia.