From a Houston gun show in 2007. (Creative Commons)

The ordinance, introduced by Councilman Rafi Manoukian and approved by a 3-2 vote, prohibits the sale and possession of guns and ammunition on city property, and will take effect April 18. It’s a direct blow to a profitable gun show held three times a year at the city’s civic auditorium, located near a special needs school and across the street from a community college.

Roughly 30 residents filled the seats of the small council chambers this week for the official vote, far fewer than the 140 who poured in for public comment at the March 12 meeting.

Taking turns to speak last week at a podium in front of the four council members and Mayor Frank Quintero, gun show challengers and supporters dressed the part, respectively. A woman from the Coalition for A Better Glendale, which backed the ban, wore a sash adorned with photos of her children. One man sported a rumpled, bright yellow “Don’t Tread On Me” T-shirt. Their emotional appeals ranged from cries of constitutional infringement to pleas for the security of the community, echoing rhetoric tossed between both sides of the nationwide gun control debate. 

During her allotted 90 seconds, Joal Ryan, a founding member of the coalition, responded to gun show supporters’ suggestion that the ordinance was a knee-jerk reaction to shootings outside of Glendale, particularly the deaths of 20 first-graders at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., last December. “Yes, it’s true,” Ryan said. “We are here on this night because we have been moved to action by the mass murder of children. What would it say about us and our community if we weren’t?”

Councilman Manoukian first pushed for the ban in 2006 during his tenure as mayor. It found little support from council members at the time, but public shock in Newtown’s wake revived the initiative. 

City Attorney Michael Garcia presented his legal analysis of the ordinance at last week’s meeting, pointing out the auditorium’s ”sensitive location,” across the street from Glendale Community College, which enrolls 16,000 students, and “less than 1,000 feet from College View School, a Glendale Unified School District school that provides K-12 instruction to students with special needs.”

Garcia said his office concluded the ban was “not a restrictive ordinance” and would not “substantially burden the rights of individuals to bear arms for self-defense,” given the availability of firearms for purchase from 37 licensed dealers in Glendale and those in surrounding cities. 

Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, founder of the South Central L.A. Tea Party, which demonstrated in support at the latest — and last — gun show held March 2-3, wasn’t reassured by the city attorney’s report. “One thing leads to another one,” he said March 12 after being forcibly removed from the podium for exceeding his time limit. “If we cave into this, believe me, there’ll be something else they want to ban until eventually they take away all our rights to bear arms.” 

Ryan clarified the coalition had no current plans to demand other gun-related ordinances. 

Sean Brady, attorney for Glendale gun show owner Steve Friesen, said he and his client could resort to legal action. “This particular ordinance and the way it’s drafted presents various issues that will necessarily require litigation,” Brady said. “I don’t understand what the rush to pass this ordinance is.”

Friesen offered a prepared statement to argue against the city terminating its contract with his gun show: “...This is an example of hastily crafted laws that will only harm law-abiding citizens. My event has been safe, well organized, and met all civic regulations, and generates revenue for the City of Glendale.” Buyers at Friesen’s shows are subject to background checks and the state-mandated 10-day waiting period. As for profitability, a Jan. 22 report by Garcia’s office projected the three shows this year would have raked in $57,000 for the city in parking and other event fees. 

Friesen and his client could not be reached for comment immediately following Tuesday’s vote. 

Adam Winkler, a constitutional law professor at UCLA who specializes in gun control, said the ban itself and Friesen’s chances in court were both grey areas. Winkler cited the landmark 2008 Supreme Court case, District of Columbia v. Heller, which explicitly prohibited guns in “sensitive areas” like schools and government buildings, “but whether that applies to parks or any place in public where there’s likely to be a gathering of people remains unclear,” he said.

“It’s uncertain how this lawsuit would fare in court,” Winkler continued. “The government has broad regulatory authority to keep guns out of sensitive places, but there are limits to what the government can do. Depending on the breadth of this ban, it may be unconstitutional. The devil’s in the details.”

California is already one of the strictest states in the country on gun regulation. But according to the FBI’s uniform crime reports, the state also ranked highest in murders by firearms in 2011 at 1,220. The next highest tally came from a state with decidedly looser regulations — Texas, with 699 gun-related homicides.

Democrats in California’s legislature pushed to further regulate purchasing and owning guns earlier this year. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and other lawmakers were confident last month when they introduced 10 proposals, including required background checks for ammunition purchases and a prohibition on selling semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines.

Some of these statewide proposals would affect residents who already own guns. Manuela Albequerque, special counsel assisting City Attorney Garcia, made clear that wouldn’t be the case in Glendale’s ordinance. “It does not regulate the owners of firearms,” Albuquerque said during the city attorney’s presentation March 12. “It only provides that firearms cannot be possessed and sold on city property.” She addressed the council members specifically: “You are the proprietors of the property, and you need to tell (residents) how you use that property.” 

In total, the ordinance will apply to Glendale’s 47 parks and recreation facilities, nine fire stations, eight public libraries, several Glendale Water and Power facilities, a youth center and an emergency shelter. 

While voicing support for the ban, Councilwoman Laura Friedman expressed sympathy for the city’s gun owners, but said Glendale leaders had to consider conflicting priorities from both sides.

“My feeling is that this building and all public property belongs to everyone in Glendale,” Friedman said. “I don’t believe that it’s the responsibility of this city to host that gun show given how unpopular it is with many of our residents.” 

For Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, Tuesday’s vote marked a significant loss. “It’s an insult to the voters and taxpayers in Glendale,” he said. Peterson noted the South Central L.A. Tea Party is “involved with educating the people” in Glendale, and is in touch with gun advocates there to nail down their next steps. “The folks on the side of good have to start fighting back. The Constitution protects us, and (local government) cannot go against the Constitution,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense.”

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