Discussion for article #241369
He’s closing the store under his own volition. He is not being shuttered.
But look at why? What San Fran is up to differs little from the Antiabortion folks methods. SCOTUS ruled abortion legal so the Pro Life folks went about making it impossible. Excessive legislation and absurd requirements placed on abortion providers made it impossible for them to stay in operation. It’s an end run around the Constitution.
Same thing here. Requiring video of gun and ammo sales? Why other than to burden. The San Fran power structure is quite Liberal . They don’t like this guy ( who seems to have no record of wrong doing ) And they don’t like guns. But Guns are legal. So just make them impossible. deny them to those that want them because you don’t like them.
And folks are going to get them. Just like they are going to get abortions. Perhaps they’ll do both in a back alley. No video no doctors…no records no background checks…nothing. Stupid.
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“Buying a gun is a constitutionally protected right…”
There is the break point. Responsible folks owning a gun is what should be constitutionally protected. And potential gun owners need to prove their responsibility before a purchase is approved.
So let’s add to the federal budget–perhaps with a tax on ammo–state and local offices (supplemented by vetted volunteers for data entry if needed) that vet potential gun owners before a gun purchase. Have two notarized recommendations from non-family members. Pass a psych test. Pass a gun safety class conducted by an approved law enforcement officer. Now you are approved for a gun purchase and this data is entered into the background check database. If the law enforcement officer has any concerns a Gun Ownership Restraining Order will be requested from a federal judge. If approved, this information will be entered into the background check database. Successful completion provides a certificate for gun purchase that is approved for 5 years.
At the point of purchase, you have to pass a federal background check that will take as long as it takes. No exceptions. Also, the “felony conviction” needs to be expanded to include any misdemeanor convictions that indicate anger management issues, use of guns, assaults, domestic violence, etc. These convictions will be added to the federal database.
Note, graduation from any special education schools will automatically bar the individual from responsible gun ownership for the life of the individual. No exceptions.
Now, we have a well regulated gun ownership program. If money is left from the ammo tax, public safety education will be provided for gun safety in the home, in the vehicle, how to safely transport, etc. If no extra funds, tax the gun purchase.
A responsible gun owner has to be PROVEN before the purchase.
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The 2nd amendment says nothing about buying a gun. Going all Fat Tony here, but it says “keep and bear arms” Nothing about buying. If we are going to go to the founders original language, nothing about buying are is guaranteed
Remember “originalism”?.
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OK but I don’t think this guy was opposed to background checks or reasonable waiting periods. I can’t find any source of the store ever having violated any law. In fact he’s closing because he can no longer comply with the ridiculous shit SF is imposing on him.
The United States Constitution does not guarantee anyone the right to a personal fire arm. If guarantees the right of the people to form militias ( at that time a National Guard ) for defense against their enemies. In 1789 personal fire arm ownership was like owning a toaster today. You didn’t need a Constitutional guarantee for something like that.
Doesn’t that go against the Supreme Court ruling that individuals have a right to bear arms? I’m looking for ways to make sure that RESPONSIBLE people bear arms. We’re allowing people to buy guns like it’s candy–and the retailers and gun manufacturers don’t want any stifling of impulse purchases. That has to end. The carnage is too high of a price to pay.
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All of you busy being righteously indignant about access to guns must have skipped over this bit of information about gun violence in San Francisco
a city still scarred by the 1993 murder of eight in a downtown high-rise and the 1978 assassination of Mayor George Moscone and gay rights activist Harvey Milk.
In the downtown office killings this gun was used
Our mayor was killed in broad daylight in his office at City Hall along with a city supervisor, one of the first elected gay politicians who’s now become a symbol of the movement. The gun was a .38 and the killer had 10 rounds with him.
I’ve lived here for a long time, and each of these events, but particularly the latter, changed our lives and shattered our sense of security that we’d always be free from harm.
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It ain’t far to the Cow Palace where this outfit will probably go to skirt any regulation at a mega gun sale/flea market. I imagine the clientele at this store is like a liquor store in a very bad neighborhood. It would be pretty heavy, so why not go to the minimally regulated tailgate party and sell guns out of a truck.
“Alcairo said news coverage of the bill’s introduction in July slowed sales considerably because customers wrongly believed their purchases would be recorded and turned over to police.”
I don’t believe him, but I believe the “conservative” response would be, “If they are not doing anything wrong, they have nothing to fear.”
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Its America. If folks want to buy guns like candy they can as long as they abide by the laws governing the sale of weapons. They can buy them as often and as many as they like. Why not?
This gun shop does not have a history of circumventing the law or abetting crime. So it should be of no interests to folks claiming their purpose is stopping gun crime. Layering additional and unreasonable requirements on them can only be out of regulatory zealotry or fuck with them as the existing laws work just fine. But if its an ideological opposition to guns…that’s different. Then they just want to sack the guy for personal ideological reasons not ones of substance or public safety. I think that is where are in this case. It’s wrong. Its sick and its Un-American and it is so even when Liberals do it.
The image you post appears to be of a Mac 10 or its derivative. This is not a weapon a gun store can sell. You would buy it “on the street” where a market for that kind of thing existed. A good way to create that “street market” and boost the sale of illegal weapons is to ban the sale of legal ones. This is the rationale ( in reciprocal ) in the Marijuana decriminalization effort and its seems to pan out there.
No I don’t own a gun. I have no desire to. I’ve done my thing with them. But I think everyone having a Liberal wet dream over this man’s predicament might take a look inward. The methods used to “run this man off legally” can and are used against Liberal causes. You can legislate Planned parenthood out of business too…just because you don’t like them.
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One other thing. Rents in San Francisco are astronomical. Anyone want to bet that his decision to close came after his last rent increase? Just coloring it in politics.
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I tried to email the guy but he’s already closed his account down. So I don’t know the full story on the impact of the legislation on his business but I think what he says is very believable. He doesn’t claim to be a conservative so I don’t think you can hold him to conservative rules.
“I’m not doing that to our customers. Enough is enough,” Alcairo said. “Buying a gun is a constitutionally protected right. Our customers shouldn’t be treated like they’re doing something wrong.”
Maybe he could convey this message to Republicans who continually pass laws to prevent women from exercising their legal rights to abortion, if they so choose.
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Because of the killings in the downtown office building with an assault weapon (I don’t know guns, don’t know the conventional names for them), Senator Feinstein pushed for legislation banning assault weapons. It was passed ca 1994, but was not reenacted when she tried again in 2013. If there’s no gun store in San Francisco, there are others in adjacent counties only a short drive away…
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I think the “abetting crime” part comes in when a legally bought gun gets used for illegal purposes. How often does it happen? Think of all the crimes committed with guns and ask yourself, “How many of these were bought legally by their original owners?” Certainly most (more than 50%) and more likely more than 90%. After that any given gun might be lost, stolen, privately sold, or given to another and then another and so on. A gun bought today by Joe Upright Mr. 2nd Amendment Guy at Alcairo’s gun store could easily be used for illegal, potentially lethal, purposes down the road, not by Joe specifically, but someone who acquires it in the future. Actually, Joe could get really angry with his wife and shoot her in a moment of idiocy (or vise-versa) or Joe’s toddler could shoot him/herself or the family dog. It happens. If Alcairo’s store is gone, after this month there is one less place to purchase guns that will ultimately be used to destroy a life. Good.
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I disagree. This is an instrument that is designed to kill. That’s fine for hunting with required licenses–it is not okay when we have too many purchasers who decide that hunting humans is A-okay.
The whole thing has to be reversed. Prove responsibility before purchasing and at the time of purchase. Period. It doesn’t stop responsible folk at all–it just slows it down. And I’m A-okay with that. If we can adjust to the check-ins at airports, we can adjust to this and it won’t bother responsible people at all. Those with poor impulse control will probably have a problem and maybe we need to weed them out anyway.
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I think the problem goes way beyond Mr. Alcairo’s gun shop.
Guns are easily transportable. What is strictly regulated in SF or Chicago means nothing to traffickers who profit by selling to whomever no questions asked. This is a big part of the problem, but the real problem is Congress.
Congress has no will to promulgate a national uniform gun policy (in lieu of a patchwork of state laws) to thwart traffickers because LaPierre won’t let them. LaPierre is fine with the status quo of state laws some weak some strong because he can say they don’t work. And he knows they certainly do little to impair the inter state secondary market. He is fine with a weak ATF with no boss (that NRA-supported congressmen assure) and he can rake over the coals from time to time to render them impotent.
Until we change Congress to one composed of those less concerned with their NRA rating than with serving the public interest in preserving life, from a congress that won’t even fund the research to find the facts (for example how each gun that is the instrument of death got to the killer’s hand), nothing will change and the carnage will continue.
Articles like the following appear about monthly in the Chicago area alone:
And this from last year:
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Good riddance to agents of death.
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The Borowitz take:
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