C.A. Council might consider banning gun shows

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Council might consider banning gun shows Councilman Rafi Manoukian also proposes restricting firearms sales near schools. By Tim Willert CITY HALL -- As early as next month, the City Council could decide to take a look at banning gun shows and restricting the sale of guns near city schools.Councilman Rafi Manoukian is targeting gun shows that take place at the Glendale Civic Auditorium, which is across the street from Glendale Community College.Manoukian, who raised the issue during the Oct. 16 council meeting, has asked City Atty. Scott Howard to look into the legality of regulating gun sales near schools and to prepare a report in time for the Dec. 4 council meeting. "I believe it's important for the council to take a stand," Manoukian said Thursday. "Basically, I don't want guns being sold around my children, and that's my premise."Manoukian said he would like to see gun shows eliminated, and gun sales restricted within 1,000 feet of local schools."It's not a matter of being good or bad business," Manoukian said of the shows. "I wouldn't want them around schools where my children go and I'm sure other parents wouldn't want them around their children."Howard said Thursday he gave the council a very specific opinion on the legality of gun shows two years ago, but declined to discuss the opinion."That's an issue we already looked at," Howard said, adding that the council could decide to revisit it.Howard did say the Glendale Municipal Code has no regulations restricting the sale of guns near schools, though there are a "plethora" of state and federal laws regulating the sale of firearms.The civic auditorium plays host to three or four gun shows annually, some of which have been the subject of past protests."We get a lot of people," auditorium manager Ross Phares said. "They're a big draw."Glendale resident Conrad La Grasta, who promotes the gun shows, was out of town and not available for comment Thursday.There are at least eight stores in Glendale -- including pawn shops -- that sell guns. All but two are close to elementary, middle and high schools."If I'm abiding by all the laws, what difference does it make if I'm next to a school or 20 miles from a school?" Paul Milbury, a Glendale gun store owner, said Thursday by phone from Las Vegas, where he was attending a gun show.Milbury said banning local gun shows would be a violation of his civil rights."Why do they want to ban gun shows when there is nothing wrong with them?" he said.In September 1999, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors banned the sale of guns and ammunition on county property. A lawsuit challenging the law is pending, Howard said. http://www.latimes.com/tcn/glendale/news/la-gn0019069nov02.story