corkeh
3807
San Francisco finally bullied its last gun store out of business.
Telefrog
3808
Ladd Everitt, spokesman for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, said the proposed regulations are not onerous and said “video evidence is a critical component in bringing lawbreakers to justice.”
“If High Bridge Arms is so scared of implementing such a practice, my first question would be, ‘What do you have to hide?,’" he said. "Why in the world aren’t we requiring all gun stores to tape sales at this point?”
Interesting. I feel this is the same argument used by many people when it comes to domestic phone taps, drone surveillance, and voter registration laws. “If you have nothing to hide…”
TimJames
3809
Now I know someone is named Ladd.
Agreed. Regardless of the specifics of the case, which I’m not informed enough to comment on, that argument is just as bullshit here is as it everywhere else.
The proposed new city regulations, which could only be aimed at High Bridge Arms, would have required the shop to take and preserve video of all transactions and turn customers’ personal data over to police on a weekly basis. General Manager Steven Alcairo said the shop’s owners finally threw in the towel after years of what they consider being unfairly targeted with burdensome rules and regulations. Past regulations have required the shop to bar ads and displays from its windows and install cameras and barriers around its exterior. The shop has 17 cameras as it is, and turns video over to police on request, he said.
I don’t know about giving the recordings to the police weekly (that seems unnecessary and an infringement of privacy, maybe), so it seems this time the feeling of being targeted is warranted, but some of these regulations, like having cameras and bars in a weapon shop, sound very sensible to me. That’s not burdensome regulations, that’s public safety. There are similar rules for explosive storage in construction sites and such. If what you work with is potentially dangerous I don’t see how forcing it to be secured is burdensome or unnecessary.
Weapon control debates aside, if you sell weapons, you ought to expect you will face many, many more regulations that if you sell, for example, videogames.
They had to remove ads from the outside of the store, not install bars. (I think the barrier requirement is to stop cars from hitting you.) Storage requirements are generally covered by the federal rules for firearms dealers.
Note that there are still a bunch of gun shops in the Bay Area–probably more than the Pittsburgh metro area, where I’m from. It’s just SF proper that has finally purged the last whiff of arms sales from its borders.
Aleck
3814
People are getting shot by toddlers on a weekly basis this year.
The sad part is that the people being shot by the toddlers are often (like 3/4 of the time) the toddlers themselves.
Timex
3815
When you outlaw guns for toddlers, only toddler outlaws will have guns.
Lynch
3816
Toodler shootings…man this is so sick.
I wonder about the gender ratio a bit - I wonder what proportion of that comes from parents being socialized to feel more at ease around boys and therefore more likely to leave unattended guns, compared to boys being more socialized to be interested in guns.
Miramon
3818
Re toddlers with guns: https://twitter.com/MykeCole/status/654648400214802435 – is it just me, or is the idea of a rifle made to look like a toy abhorrent?
If only everyone carried a handgun at all times. They could defend themselves from these toddler attacks.
Timex
3820
Everything about that picture is wrong.
Seriously, everything. It’s basically a picture of everything you should never do with firearms.
rowe33
3821
That’s a toddler shooting just waiting to happen - what the fuck is wrong with people? Why not decorate it with My Little Pony and Dora the Explorer while they’re at it? That’d be sure to get more toddlers’ attention than just changing the color scheme.
Pink guns have been around for a while. More of a female thing than a kid thing.
That was a missed teaching opportunity for the rules of firearm use.
The death of a child is always very sad.
Yup, the pink firearms are usually marketed to adult females. Which I think says something else entirely about gun culture and marketing, but it’s neither here nor there.
Firearms specifically marketed for kids’ use are more like this: http://www.crickett.com/
Unfortunately, the candy-colored cartoon decaled rifles do appeal to both kids and adults. (Check out the cosmetic skins in any shooter videogame.)
I wouldn’t try to apply identity politics principles to it. It always seemed like more of a bottom-up movement embraced by some women (maybe with a little prodding from their husbands) than a tone deaf corporate campaign to try to appeal to them.
All the pros use normal guns of course.
And hey, maybe if you carry a pink gun, you’ll be less likely to be shot by a police officer!
Timex
3825
The idea of making guns “look cool” whether its for kids or adults, seems kind of wrongheaded.
I’m not afraid of firearms at all, and generally support most gun ownership rights… but I also believe that firearms are tools, primarily designed to kill things, as well as competition shooting. They aren’t toys, or fashion objects.
I would argue that people buying typical “assault rifles” do so specifically because they look cool over any other reason.
