For several weeks now we've been covering the saga of Goodland Guns, the gun shop in Goleta, California that's been the subject of complaints by some residents because of its new location next to a daycare center.
Goodland Guns owner Dan Ashton did everything by the book when relocating his shop from Old Town Goleta to its new location, but the move has led to some neighbors and patrons of the daycare center to demand that city officials do something to shut Ashton down or force him to move once again.
The city has no real mechanism to give Ashton the boot, and since he signed a 25-year lease he's probably going to be at his new location for decades to come. The anti-gunners of Goleta, though, are now expanding their crusade against gun shops to include anyone who might want to open up their own store in the future.
Goleta currently has no specific zoning regulations governing where firearm retailers can open.
The city council is considering an interim urgency ordinance that would temporarily prohibit new firearms and ammunition retailers from opening in Goleta. The proposed moratorium would remain in effect while city staff develops additional regulations specifically addressing firearm retailers.
... “I’m not comfortable with people having weapons. I’m super anti-guns,” said Oscar Quiroz, a Goleta resident.
The Goleta City Council is expected to decide on the proposed ordinance Tuesday.
Quiroz can be as anti-gun as he wants, but his discomfort with folks exercising their Second Amendment rights shouldn't trump their ability to do so.
Unfortunately, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has given the green light to those communities who want to put a stop to any new shops from opening. Nine years ago, in a case called Teixeira v. County of Alameda, an en banc Ninth Circuit panel upheld a county zoning ordinance that was designed to prevent any new gun stores from opening their doors by imposing strict limits on where FFLs could operate. The panel concluded that while there may be a right to keep and bear arms, there's no right to sell them, and communities can impose whatever limits they like so long as they don't completely curtail the ability of residents to acquire a gun.
Based on that rationale, Goleta's city council could approve zoning laws that are so restrictive no other store would have a place to operate inside the city limits. Since the Teixeira decision, several California localities have taken that step, including Redwood City, where new zoning laws went into effect three years ago after a nearly year-long "moratorium" of its own.
In a 6-1 vote, the City Council approved new regulations that will limit where firearms and ammunition shops can open to areas of town where retail uses are already permitted and at least 600 feet away from sensitive uses. Those seeking to open shops will also have to obtain a permit from the Redwood City Police Department and implement adequate security measures and warning signs in multiple languages.
The 600-foot buffer would apply to schools, childcare centers, family child care homes, youth centers, community centers, public parks, Courthouse Square, libraries and faith-based places of worship. Retailers would also have to be separated by at least 1,000 feet from other firearm retailers to prevent clustering.
As of today, there are zero gun stores operating in Redwood City, and though it might be possible for someone to open up a gun shop in town, the zoning laws would make it difficult, if not impossible, for them to face any competition from a second store.
Given the backlash that Goodland Guns has received from residents like Quiroz, I'd be shocked if the Goleta City Council didn't impose a moratorium at today's meeting. The NIMBYs may not be able to shut Ashton's store down, but they can definitely keep anyone else from setting up shop in the city.
Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their extreme gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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