2016 will be a pivotal year for Second Amendment rights in this country. A Presidential contest between a pro & anti 2A candidate awaits us this November. The incoming President will select a successor for Associate Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and will likely place another three Supreme Court justices during his or her term in office. The balance of power in the U.S. Senate is up for grabs. At the state level, even traditionally pro-2A states are being forced to fight gun control initiatives. In my own State of California, the Assembly is rushing through an unprecedented list of anti-firearm owner laws to beat the legislative deadline. Citizens along with state and national groups have been fighting furiously against what has been termed Gunpocalypse and Gunmeggedon and are hoping for some small reprieve from the Democratic Governor when the bills reach his desk.
But with all our focus on national and state matters, we seem to have forgotten to keep track of what’s been going on in our own backyard.
Last week in my own hometown, the City Council passed a one-year extension to a so-called urgency ordinance for a moratorium on new commercial operations engaged in the sale of firearms, ammunition and / or explosive devices.
A little background: The original Urgency Ordinance was passed on September 2, 2015 establishing a temporary 45-day moratorium for new firearm business licenses. It was the result of concerned citizens discovering there were four firearms retailers in the city and a fifth was in the process of being established. An initial attempt to regulate current and future retailers with a wide-ranging licensing ordinance, which in effect zoned the entire city out of bounds, failed. A much simpler local licensing proposal was successfully implemented and the zoning requirements were pushed over to the Planning Department.
On October 14, 2015 the City Council extended the moratorium for an additional 10 months and 15 days to allow the City staff time to adequately study the appropriate land use regulations. This extended the original date to a full year. Combined with last week’s extension, the City now has a two-year temporary, urgency moratorium.
The four existing firearms retailers in the City were notified of this extension, including one, which was planning a relocation that would not be possible during the moratorium period.
Included in the justifications for this extension were the retirement of the Community Development Director in February 2016 and the retirement of the City Manager in December 2015. Also noted was the potential impact of the recent Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling regarding zoning and gun shops in Alameda County – a restriction on firearms retailers within 500 feet of a residential area.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling is significant as it held the Second Amendment extended to the buying and selling of firearms. “The panel held that the Ordinance burdened conduct protected by the Second Amendment and that it therefore must be subjected to heightened scrutiny—something beyond mere rational basis review.”
Back here with my hometown City Council, there was no discussion of the progress made to date on the new zoning regulations or whether the delay was in fact reasonable. There was no commitment to any milestones or whether it would be completed by the next moratorium expiration date. There was no public comment. There was no debate. The ordinance passed unanimously.
The erosion and subsequent elimination of our Second Amendment rights come from all levels. It occurs not only in the legislative chambers in Washington D.C. and Sacramento C.A, but also in our local town halls. Each incremental intrusion on the Bill of Rights, each “common sense” regulation, each new rule, restriction, license and fee, pushes us further down the path of losing our rights all together. We all need to pay very close attention to what is going on at every level.
Shame on us. No, scratch that… shame on me.
Bob
#oddstuffing, #2ndAmendment, #moratorium, #shameonus