People have the right to be stupid. That's a God-given right that, unfortunately, we don't need an amendment to the Constitution to protect. After all, it's not like Congress is going to vote to ban themselves, nor will the states ratify something that makes at least half of the public illegal upon ratification.
But there are limits to how far stupidity can or should go. It's one thing to be stupid. It's another when your stupidity, and the stupidity of the local government, creates a Second Amendment issue.
That's what's going down in Monterey, California, where it started with a gun store wanting to open in a location that was zoned appropriately and now has led to a temporary halt on any new gun stores opening:
The Monterey City Council unanimously passed an ordinance to temporarily ban new firearms and ammunition retail businesses until a new ordinance regulating their locations is created.
The city currently has no specific regulations for gun and ammo stores, allowing them to operate in any retail or mixed-use zone.
“This matter is urgent because, without a moratorium, an unlimited number of firearms and ammunition sales business may locate almost anywhere in the city without local regulation,” City Attorney Christine Davi wrote in the city council agenda report.
...
The lack of an ordinance was brought to light after members of the Oak Grove neighborhood took to a city council meeting in early February to express disapproval of a new gun store set to open in a mixed-use building at 301 Ocean Avenue.
It's located below several apartment units, in the middle of a primarily residential area, and near a preschool and a liquor store.
"I would feel very uneasy given the temperament of the country as far as shootings that are in the country right now," Dona Betzold of the Oak Grove Neighborhood Association said.
Now, this is a temporary moratorium, which might keep the problem from spiraling out of control, but it's still a Second Amendment issue. The right to keep and bear arms also implies the right to buy and sell arms, which means gun stores are constitutionally protected and shouldn't be subject to any additional burdens regarding opening.
I'd say no burdens beyond what federal and state law demands, but those shouldn't be there, either.
Looking at the concerns for a moment, you can see how unhinged the reaction really is. It's a residential area and a mixed-use zone, meaning retail businesses already exist. In fact, a liquor store is nearby, which is cited as one of the problems, as is the preschool.
Well, the preschoolers can't buy guns, so that's a non-issue.
People in many places have vehicles, so they can travel to buy a gun and alcohol if they have to, which means their being in proximity to one another isn't really a reasonable concern. Plus, the fact that there's residential space above it is irrelevant since those who live just above the store have to follow the same laws as everyone else, so criminals aren't going to just step downstairs and pick up a new Glock 19.
So all of the concerns are non-issues.
The problem is that it's a gun store.
Currently, the moratorium means new stores can't open, which is a Second Amendment issue in and of itself, but this idea of relegating gun stores to just certain parts of town is a problem, too. That's especially true when you have "studies" that try to link gun store proximity to crime rates and fail to note that many gun stores are just opening where they can get space and aren't actually contributing to the problem.
That creates new issues regarding gun rights.
Then again, this is California, so freaking out over guns is far from new, as is overreacting to them.
