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THINK AGAIN: CITY COUNCIL SHOULD RETHINK GLENDALE GUN SHOW
http://www.glendalenewspress.com/opinion/tn-818-1226-think-again-city-council-should-rethink-glendale-gun-show,0,3307615.story
December 26, 2012 | 9:37 a.m.
On Dec.14, I was sitting in a session of the Los Angeles City Council
for a pending council matter when a news flash came across my iPhone
on the Newtown, Conn. school shooting. My heart sank and a shiver
went through my body like it did for so many other people across
our country.
The eerie coincidence for me was that later that afternoon, employees
at Southern California Edison, where I work, were observing a moment
of silence for the colleagues we lost almost exactly a year ago when
an employee committed the same kind of rampage in the workplace.
That experience is still very vivid for me as I was on the front lines
of helping manage through the traumatic event, working with families
who are forever impacted by the tragic experience.
When I got home, I read posts on Facebook from a friend and former
colleague from Washington, D.C. who initially posted that her
brother-in-law and sister-in-law were awaiting word to see if their
niece Gracie was among the Connecticut victims, asking for prayers
for her well-being.
Then the Facebook posts turned for the worse when news arrived that
Gracie was one of the dozens of children who had been killed.
This tragedy then got closer with a few degrees of separation and
was yet another reminder of the hundreds of families that will now
be coping with the effects of the shooting for the rest of their lives.
This is not to mention the trauma that everyone at that school will
carry for a long time.
My intent is not to tackle the entire gun-control issue and whether
people have a right to own guns. That is a big issue that on a high
level loses the human connection.
The issue for me on the ground level, however, has a live example in
Glendale. The Glendale Gun Show comes to town three times annually
in March, August and around Thanksgiving. It is held at the Glendale
Civic Auditorium, which is city property, and where gun dealers
display and sell all types of guns.
What makes it more bewildering for me is that the Civic Auditorium
is across the street from Glendale Community College on one side,
the Armenian Catholic Church on the other, a playground one block
north and a residential neighborhood where I live on the fourth side.
Every time this show comes to town and their large signs go up on the
auditorium property I have a bad reaction to it, especially for where
it is held and particularly the one held on the eve of Thanksgiving.
It just doesn~Rt sit right.
The City Council considered banning the sale of firearms on city
property in 2001 and 2006. The time has come to review our position
on this issue again.
Why hasn~Rt the Glendale Community College Board of Trustees addressed
this gun show held facing the campus with thousands of students walking
by it each time? I~Rm equally surprised more people in Glendale have
not spoken up about the gun show, gun sales in Glendale in general
or even violent video game sales -- all parts of the same ecosystem.
The Connecticut shootings should serve as a wake up call and catalyst
for us to take meaningful steps now.
The city should start by turning down the Glendale Gun Show business
out of principle, and if that means we have to pass an ordinance,
let~Rs do it. Decades ago, the City Council made a similar decision
when it came to hosting boxing fights at the Civic Auditorium, but
somehow guns are more acceptable than boxing?
I am sure there will be financial arguments made, since the Civic
Auditorium has difficulty covering expenses every year. But taking
a stand on this issue is more important than finances as it says
something about our city.
For me, this is about leadership and I hope we will see City Council
step up to this challenge in the New Year.
ZANKU ARMENIAN is a resident of Glendale and a corporate
communications and public affairs professional. He can be reached
at [email protected].
http://www.glendalenewspress.com/opinion/tn-818-1226-think-again-city-council-should-rethink-glendale-gun-show,0,3307615.story
December 26, 2012 | 9:37 a.m.
On Dec.14, I was sitting in a session of the Los Angeles City Council
for a pending council matter when a news flash came across my iPhone
on the Newtown, Conn. school shooting. My heart sank and a shiver
went through my body like it did for so many other people across
our country.
The eerie coincidence for me was that later that afternoon, employees
at Southern California Edison, where I work, were observing a moment
of silence for the colleagues we lost almost exactly a year ago when
an employee committed the same kind of rampage in the workplace.
That experience is still very vivid for me as I was on the front lines
of helping manage through the traumatic event, working with families
who are forever impacted by the tragic experience.
When I got home, I read posts on Facebook from a friend and former
colleague from Washington, D.C. who initially posted that her
brother-in-law and sister-in-law were awaiting word to see if their
niece Gracie was among the Connecticut victims, asking for prayers
for her well-being.
Then the Facebook posts turned for the worse when news arrived that
Gracie was one of the dozens of children who had been killed.
This tragedy then got closer with a few degrees of separation and
was yet another reminder of the hundreds of families that will now
be coping with the effects of the shooting for the rest of their lives.
This is not to mention the trauma that everyone at that school will
carry for a long time.
My intent is not to tackle the entire gun-control issue and whether
people have a right to own guns. That is a big issue that on a high
level loses the human connection.
The issue for me on the ground level, however, has a live example in
Glendale. The Glendale Gun Show comes to town three times annually
in March, August and around Thanksgiving. It is held at the Glendale
Civic Auditorium, which is city property, and where gun dealers
display and sell all types of guns.
What makes it more bewildering for me is that the Civic Auditorium
is across the street from Glendale Community College on one side,
the Armenian Catholic Church on the other, a playground one block
north and a residential neighborhood where I live on the fourth side.
Every time this show comes to town and their large signs go up on the
auditorium property I have a bad reaction to it, especially for where
it is held and particularly the one held on the eve of Thanksgiving.
It just doesn~Rt sit right.
The City Council considered banning the sale of firearms on city
property in 2001 and 2006. The time has come to review our position
on this issue again.
Why hasn~Rt the Glendale Community College Board of Trustees addressed
this gun show held facing the campus with thousands of students walking
by it each time? I~Rm equally surprised more people in Glendale have
not spoken up about the gun show, gun sales in Glendale in general
or even violent video game sales -- all parts of the same ecosystem.
The Connecticut shootings should serve as a wake up call and catalyst
for us to take meaningful steps now.
The city should start by turning down the Glendale Gun Show business
out of principle, and if that means we have to pass an ordinance,
let~Rs do it. Decades ago, the City Council made a similar decision
when it came to hosting boxing fights at the Civic Auditorium, but
somehow guns are more acceptable than boxing?
I am sure there will be financial arguments made, since the Civic
Auditorium has difficulty covering expenses every year. But taking
a stand on this issue is more important than finances as it says
something about our city.
For me, this is about leadership and I hope we will see City Council
step up to this challenge in the New Year.
ZANKU ARMENIAN is a resident of Glendale and a corporate
communications and public affairs professional. He can be reached
at [email protected].