Radio host calls for martial law in Oakland in wake of Oakland murders
San Francisco Bay Area radio talk show host Gene Burns is calling for the imposition of martial law in the wake of some highly publicized murder cases in Oakland.
Just this past weekend, a father was shot to death as his 6-year-old son looked on. Jose Esparza was just 39 years old. The shooting happened on 103rd Avenue and International Boulevard about 1 p.m. on Sunday. Esparza had just left a grocery store where he went to cash his paycheck. Esparza's son watched at robbers shot him twice and removed his cell phone and cash. On August 8, 2.2 miles north on International Blvd at 64th Avenue, 3-year-old Carlos Nava got caught in the crossfire of a gunfight and was shot to death. The weekend before last, on Saturday August 20, a 4-year-old boy was shot in the arm on International Blvd at 59th Avenue. (See video on the left from KGO-TV.)
Burns, a veteran talk show host on KGO radio 810 AM, called for the national guard to be called in as a show of force and called for the imposition of martial law. (You can listen to the first hour of the program here on the station's 7-day archive.)
"Oakland needs to drop the hammer on International Boulevard," said Burns.
The talk show host later added, "International Boulevard has become a shooting gallery."
Burns asks for callers to weigh in with their opinions. The first caller from Concord said it was the first time he agreed with Burns about anything. Other were were equally impassioned on the need for more to be done to curb violence in Oakland. A caller suggested a lack of overall leadership in the city of Oakland. Another caller blasted Burns and said the real problem in Oakland is poverty.
Another caller said that martial law would only disperse criminals to other parts of the city or Bay Area.
"You've got to confront the problem in your neighborhood," countered Burns, who continued the topic through the second hour of his show Monday evening.
A caller in the second hour said there wasn't a politcal will to call in the National Guard. The caller noted that International Blvd had long had a history of violence and noted its name was changed from East 14th Avenue after that street got a bad name.
A vigiil was held Monday night at the site of the Esparza killing
What do you think? Should Oakland impose martial law in the wake of the shootings of Jose Esparza and Carlos Nava? Leave your comments below.
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