Shooting Down City Council Decision

I’ve been a gun enthusiast (I’ll let others add the “nut” appellation) since my youth. I learned to shoot a .22-caliber rifle out in the Mojave Desert about the same time I learned to ride a bike. Today, at any given time I have several long rifles, pistols, revolvers, shotguns and/or black powder firearms in my gun safe. I don’t hunt. I don’t belong to the NRA. I wasn’t raised in the backwoods somewhere and was never in the armed services.

I’m a college educated, Bible-believing, law-abiding Southern California native who simply enjoys shooting firearms and practicing the skills necessary to repeatedly hit all sorts and sizes of targets (some of the moving) at various distances. And yes, I take comfort in knowing that I have the ability and the means to protect my people and property should, God forbid, the need ever arise. (Never forget: when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.)

Does that frighten you? How about if I tell you that while guns have been in our home, my wife and I have safely raised four happy, healthy and well-adjusted children – not one of whom has ever fired a gun either accidentally or on purpose at each other or any other person. Our kids have a healthy respect for firearms, know how to properly handle, maintain and shoot most types of guns and fully understand the immense responsibility that is attached to owning and using guns of any kind.

This should help you understand my great frustration (although not much surprise) upon hearing that the Glendale City Council – in their infinite wisdom – passed a resolution last week to ban all gun shows from city-owned property. This means that the semi-annual (or more often) gun show at the Glendale Civic Auditorium, an event that has regularly occurred for 20 some-odd years, will be no more.

In a purely emotional response (one of the worst reasons to pass legislation) to the Sandy Hook school tragedy of December, along with pointing out the obvious fact that the Civic Center is across the street from Glendale City College, a majority of the city council voted to ban gun shows on city property effective immediately. Apparently it doesn’t matter one whit that the gun show operators have a contract with the city through November of 2014. Or that no one can point to a single violent or even illegal incident as a result of the gun show.

I have not only attended many Glendale gun shows over the years, I was also once a student at GCC. Frankly, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if a sweep of the cars in the college parking lot on any given day turned up a cache of firearms that would stock any gun shop in the country.

Such foolishness as perpetrated by the city council last week is the result of what is sometimes called the “do-something” disease that afflicts too many present-day politicians; intoxicated both by power and the desire to, well, do something. Anything. And so legislation is passed that no rational, thinking person can expect to have even the slightest effect other than to take away something from those who can’t do anything to stop it from happening.

But at least the hand wringers and do-gooders in the cash-strapped Glendale government can say they did something. Speaking of cash, it’s been reported that in 2012 alone, the three gun shows held (without incident) in Glendale generated approximately $55,000 just in rental and parking revenue. That figure doesn’t include money spent locally by out-of-town guests visiting Glendale to attend the popular gun shows here.

It’s also been reported that the operators of the show rightfully intend to sue the city for breach of contract. I cringe to think how much they will win in damages that will naturally be paid for with already depleted public funds.

Now that, good people, is something to get emotional about.

I’ll see you ’round town.

  Jim Chase