Todays Examiner headliner was "Taking Another Shot at Gun Shows." The artical states that the gun show at the Cow Palace is some how related to the horrific gun violence that occurs in the surrounding areas. These surrounding areas consist of Bayview-Hunters point, Sunndydale, Mission District, and Daly City's Bayshore region. For those of you who don't know, these neighborhood's are low income, mostly project housing. Most of the citizens who live in these areas are good hard working people. The minority are the ones causing all of the trouble. It should be noted that it is illegal for a felon to own or possess a firearm. It is also illegal to own or possess a firearm on public housing property. Does this law prevent the bad guys from having fire arms? Absolutley not.
A 1997 U.S. Dept of Justice survey of state prison inmates who possessed guns, shows the following stats; 2% obtainerd their firearms from a gun show or flea market, 12% obtained their firearms from a retail store or pawn shop, and 80% obtained them from family, friends, the street, or other illegal sources. It is important to understand this survey as it relates to closing down gun shows. The 2% will simply shift to another source if gun shows are closed. The 2% who obtained guns from gun shows or flea markets should be broken down. Gun shows are extremely regulated. Flea markets are not. So how many of the 2% purchased their fire arms from gun shows? Aren't statistics fun?
A co-worker was at a gun show walking around. He recognized a local "gang banger" buying ammunition. This individual happened to be on felony parole. Being a diligent off duty officer, he got to work and wrote up a search warrant for the subject's house. Guess what they found when the search warrant was served? Many illegal firearms, some used in murders. That Gang banger is sitting in San Quentin for the next 10-15 years. There are now undercover officers, uniformed officers, and of course, off duty officers who are at these gun shows.
I wish to get a little local at this point. San Mateo County Supervisor Mark Church co-sponsered a local ordinance that prohibited fire arms from the San Mateo Expo Center, which effectivley banned gun shows. The ordinance came in the wake of an eight year rise in firearm related deaths. Supervisor Church was quoted in the Examiner as saying, "Deaths from gunshots were among the leading causes of death from unatural causes in San Mateo County. We had a compelling interest in adopting laws of this nature to reduce fatlities." Did it work? Not exactly. A record from the California Health Department shows that the year the ordinance was started there were 33 firearm related deaths in San Mateo County. The next year the count was 54. In 2004 the count was 39 and in 2005 it was 56. So what does this say? Could it be that the lack of a gun show at the Expo Center has contributed to the rise in firearm related deaths? Maybe we need to bring it back! See statistics do work both ways. To Supervisor Church, you did not reduce fatalities, but your ordinance must have made you feel good. Politicians too often worry about feel-good laws, and not about actual reality. I mean who would not want to reduce gun violence? As a Police Officer who works in the Bayview-Hunters Point District in San Francisco, I see everyday the gun violence that politicians talk about. But what do they do about it? The answer is... nothing! Many times we have caught very bad people, who have done very bad things with guns. But I have yet to see a gun that was actually registered to the person who used it. Our legal system usually puts these people right back onto the street with a minor slap on the wrist. More often they blame the Police Officers for racial profiling, planting evidence, or just plain lying. I have seen so many court cases thrown out because, even though we have seen individuals drop guns as they were running away, and their DNA and finger prints were on the gun, the court simply needed an additional witness, because, after all, who can trust a Police Officer?
What our politiicans should be doing is coming up with better laws to place these bad guys in jail for longer sentences, no parole, no probation, and no discharges in the interest of justice. I don't want to hear about the cost of having to house these guys. The more time they spend in jail, the less time they have to terrorize the good, hard working citizens of the community. So Mark Church, how about finding ways to punish retail stores, pawnshops, family, friends, and other illegal sources for allowing sales to criminals, that account for 98% of the problem? Stop punishing law abiding gun owners, who believe in the 2nd Amendment, who do not use their guns for illegal purposes. In closing, it is important for law abiding gun owners to stand up. Throw people like Mark Church out of office! Stand up for your rights now.