Glendale considers banning gun shows from its civic auditorium
Glendale is considering a measure that would ban guns shows from its civic auditorium.
The City Council will discuss the issue Tuesday night.
The council has several options, including canceling rental contracts with the Glendale Gun Show for coming events, banning all gun sales on city property outright, or allowing the show to operate through the rest of the year and then ban it, according to a city report.
The next gun show at Glendale Civic Auditorium is scheduled for March.
Last week, dozens of gun show advocates packed the council chambers to try to keep the proposed ban off Tuesday’s agenda, but to no avail. Councilman Rafi Manoukian, who suggested the ban, said that although the gun supporters made a compelling argument, they didn’t change his mind.
With Mayor Frank Quintero on his side, Manoukian needs only one more council member’s support to bar the event.
Manoukian first floated the proposal in December, citing the mass shooting that killed 26 people, including 20 first-graders, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
The gun show has been at the auditorium since 1992.
Gun show advocates said last week that canceling their event, which they describe as a family affair, will not curb gun violence. Manoukian said the city shouldn’t be in the business of profiting from gun sales, especially near a school. Glendale Community College is across the street from the civic auditorium.
In 2012, three gun shows in Glendale generated about $55,000 in rental and parking revenue, or 13% of the auditorium’s total income that year. The council meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at 613 E. Broadway.
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