Imagine a city where diversity and tolerance are not simply the lofty goal but the purported lifestyle; a city where anyone and everyone is welcome.
If you guessed San Francisco, guess again. That famous “City by the Bay” where Tony Bennett left his heart has closed its collective mind to the lone gun store in town. According to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Phil Bronstein, a coalition of organizations wants the city to deny a permit to High Bridge Arms, a shop on Mission Street.
It’s all so…what’s that word?...provincial in a socially-bigoted kind of way. According to Bronstein, “the Northwest Bernal Alliance and three other local groups are urging authorities to deny a permit to High Bridge Arms gun store on Mission Street after a brief closure because its members don't want such a place ‘near our homes and/or schools.’
“Officially, the organizations are not opposed to people owning guns, Alliance member Jaime Ross told me,” Bronstein wrote. “They’d just ‘rather have something the neighborhood could enjoy - a laundry or wine and cheese shop’.”
Gee, there’s such a shortage of laundries, wine and cheese shops in San Francisco. What this band of high-brow exclusionists is really saying is that “We don’t want your kind around here.”
Into this quicksand has stepped the Pink Pistols, a pro-gun gay rights organization. This ruckus has erupted just a few weeks out from the 25th annual Gun Rights Policy Conference, scheduled the weekend of Sept. 24-26 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport hotel. Gun rights leaders from around the country will be in town for that event, and it’s a safe bet they’ll have something to talk about.
ITEM #2:
Mayor Sam Adams of Portland is getting a lot of ink following his recent announcement that he wants to adopt some new gun regulations in the city. This column discussed his proposals here, and the Portland Oregonian has kept tabs on the story. Readers have been weighing in with opinions about Adams’ plans and they’re hardly going in the mayor’s favor.
ITEM #3:
Last week this column discussed the lack of accountability for the post-Hurricane Katrina gun grab in New Orleans five years after the fact. That column stirred up a sizzling debate on The High Road forum, one of the liveliest in recent memory.
They’ve also chatted about it on the Open Carry forum, but without the fireworks. Suffice to say a lot of gun owners remember what happened after Katrina, and despite some efforts to justify some of the actions of gun-grabbing authorities, the underlying issue still centers around identifying the individual or individuals who issued the confiscation order, and make them accept the responsibility.
There is little chance that any criminal prosecutions will occur, but the fact that for so long the people responsible have remained mute is a strong indication they knew they were on shaky legal ground when the order was issued.
ITEM #4:
The late-night shooting of a minister by a Spokane Valley Police Officer continues to ripple through the Spokane area, and the Spokesman-Review newspaper has editorialized about the shooting and all of the unanswered questions that remain.
This column discussed the fatal shooting here. This is one of those stories that simply will not go away, and it shouldn’t. The Sheriff’s Department has indicate that it will not be talking about this case until “all the facts are in.” Well, how long will that take? A man has been killed in a horribly tragic case of errors. The public wants answers and people have a right to know. Barring release of facts as they become available, people will fill the vacuum with conjecture. That’s not a good thing.
ITEM #5
The Environmental Protection Agency’s rejection of a petition from environmental groups to push for a ban on lead ammunition – brought about by a grassroots effort ignited by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, followed by a reminder from the National Rifle Association that the EPA doesn’t have the legal authority to ban ammunition – got some interesting reaction from Evergreen State hunters and members of the High Road.
This column discussed the proposed ban here, and congratulated the NRA and NSSF here for stopping this nonsense in its tracks. It should be noted for the record that the NSSF-inspired grassroots groundswell was the right hook, and the NRA's letter was the solid left haymaker. Both punches KO'd this idea. Some suggest our earlier column had a part, but we - how does Fox News put it? - merely report, and you decide.
For perhaps too long, according to their critics, environmental groups have gotten far too much leeway from the courts and federal agencies when they pushed their issue and just so much as threatened lawsuits. Perhaps it is time to put their feet to the fire.
Prime example: Wolf re-listing on the Endangered Species List. This column discussed the issue most recently here, asking whether it is time to take wolves off that list, so that states could manage wolf populations. Wolf protectionists are adamant that there aren’t enough wolves, yet the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and sportsmen in several states where predation is taking a toll on elk and deer populations might disagree.
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Comments
I am glad someone in the Northwest Bernal Alliance and other groups screwed up and challenged the permit for the gun shop. Now everything might come out in the open and they will be forced to discuss the second amendment and the right to own, sell, and service guns in San Francisco. And while not gay myself I hope the Pink Pistols give them all sorts of grief and adds plenty of fuel for the conference. Maybe if the Pink Pistols can back San Francisco down the gays will have something everyone can thank them for in the way of protecting Second Amendment rights for everyone and not just gays. It is hard to hate someone who is willing to stand with you in protecting everyone's right to bear arms and self defense.
When it comes to San Francisco what can one say, it is by far the worst place In my mind for any real serious issue to be discussed, it is a collection of every stripe of people one could imagine, one would think it a good source for a fair and balanced discussion but that will not happen
The only thing that makes since there is, I cannot think of anything!
I still don't understand why we insist on rewarding anti-gun cities by holding pro-gun conferences in them. When we have so many other extremely gun-friendly states that are hurting for the revenues that come with conventions, these people still insist on choosing anti-gun venues.
Garry,
Someone once asked a crook (Willy Loomis?) why he robbed banks. "That's where the money is." While I agree with you to a certain extent, esp. w/ regards to the NRA conventions, we also have to keep carrying the fight to enemy territory.
Hey Hey, Ho Ho! LaPierre has got to go!
BTW, I don't see any links on here to complain to examinte.com about the god-awful changes they have made to the website. New! Improved! Now more Crapulent than EVAR!
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