Gun show is among embarrassments

The first time that I saw the sign advertising a gun show in the Glendale Civic Auditorium, for a fleeting moment I thought I was somewhere in rural Alabama.

How embarrassing, in this 21st century, to have such activities in a civilized country. How embarrassing, sad and degrading to have a debate as to whether or not everyone should carry guns, machine guns and other weaponry in order to “protect” ourselves and our families and children from our own government and a variety of well-armed, deranged homicidal evildoers.

And how even more embarrassing the realization that there exists in our beautiful country a minority of highly vocal NRA-ers who, validating their beliefs with an incomplete and out-of-context reading of the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, want absolutely no restrictions in the spread of weapons designed solely for the military and for killing people.

This is unacceptable and barbarous. We do not need machine guns and assault rifles in our population. We do not need them because their existence leads only to tragedy among ourselves, our families and our children.

As a longtime resident of Glendale, and a stakeholder in our city, I object to the use of our auditorium or any other city facility for gun shows or other similar activities.

I knew how to fire a heavy machine gun at the age of 10 and lived nine years of my life in war, military occupation and a civil war. I do not like guns, and tears come to my eyes when I see this continuous senseless mayhem in our country. I know what guns do.

Theodore Polychronis
Glendale