Meeting of Gang Members Hopeful Sign : * Truce of Last August Has Been Shaky but Some Now Say It Is Worth Shoring Up

The meeting of 300 gang members in Santa Ana last weekend is good news, since while they’re talking they won’t be shooting. But it would be naive to expect such meetings to end hatred, turf wars and violence among an estimated 15,000 members of 200 gangs in Orange County.

Police worry about a new tendency of gangs to wander outside the ‘hood, traveling 10 or 20 miles to hook up with another gang and confront a foe that has itself been reinforced by a second gang. A number of gangs signed a truce last August, but it’s been shaky at best. Since the start of this year, the county has witnessed at least seven gang-related murders. The truce unfortunately has also been weakened by the death from cancer of one of its organizers and the arrests of two other leading self-proclaimed proponents of peace.

Still, it was good to see that some community leaders and former gang members said the truce is worth shoring up. Gangbangers from Santa Ana, Stanton, San Clemente and other cities met at El Salvador Park. One former gang member was right on target when he lamented the steadily worsening violence, saying that not too long ago members of rival gangs settled their differences with their fists. These days the weapon of choice is the gun. If it’s not used in the first battle, all too often it’s used in a revenge drive-by shooting.

Organizers of the latest meeting wisely didn’t proclaim their efforts over after the meeting. Instead, they scheduled another get-together for later this month. They also enlisted more than a dozen gang members from different neighborhoods to volunteer in the community to try to keep violence away from school sites. A string of shootings near campuses, especially February’s killing of a senior on his way to Santa Ana’s Century High School, has appalled the county.

Earlier this month, 200 former and current gang members from 26 cities met in Kansas City, a helpful gathering that follows a truce begun more than a year ago by four predominantly black gangs in Watts. In Chicago and Minneapolis, too, there have been attempts to forge peace among gang members. One problem in Orange County has been that truce proponents are 30 or 40 years old. The people who most need to get the message are teen-agers, who are not known for listening to older folks on any topic. Gang killings go on, and it may be harder to stop the shootings than it was to start them. But having gang members talk, as they are in Santa Ana, is valuable. It should continue.