Re: Massachusetts town unhappy over FFL possibly opening

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Stop Gun Stores in Newton
Stop Gun Stores in Newton harnesses the passion and commitment of Newton residents to advocate for effective zoning laws in opposition to gun stores in our city. We are making our voices heard to protect our most vulnerable citizens from gun violence.

Newton Firearms, a gun store at 709 Washington Street in Newton, MA, in planned to open in 2021.

The proposed site is within one mile of Newton North High School, FA Day Middle School, Newton Early Childhood Program, Jackson Walnut Park, and Cabot, Lincoln Eliot, and Horace Mann Elementary Schools, as well as many local businesses. There are currently no zoning laws prohibiting the opening of this gun store. Over 1900 concerned Newtonians have joined together to stop Newton Firearms from opening.

Re: Massachusetts town unhappy over FFL possibly opening

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Essentially the same reasons and tactics used to stop a mosque and Islamic community center from opening two blocks from the 9/11 memorial in NYC.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park51
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

Re: Massachusetts town unhappy over FFL possibly opening

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Decision Time: No Gun Shops in Newton, or Possibly Some?
I do not agree with the approach of identifying locations in the City where a gun shop can open, because that means it will end up near people who have less power or influence to oppose it. Rather I believe we should ban the sale or manufacture of guns in Newton entirely, which is why I co-docketed an ordinance to do just that (#182-21)

Short of a full ban, Newton could pass a more restrictive zoning ordinance than what the Planning Department is recommending, with buffer zones such that nowhere in the City would realistically be eligible for a gun store to open. This is the approach taken by Piscataway NJ and several communities in California. This is also the approach taken by conservatives in other parts of the country to limit abortion clinics, as a prominent attorney told the Area Councils at a meeting on May 13.
1) Our Law Department, as qualified as they are, are not experts in constitutional law nor strategy. And there are very qualified and prominent attorneys in Newton who disagree with them. I have pasted below in full an email sent to the City Council noting that attorneys from two prominent, well-respected law firms, Mintz Levin and Ropes & Gray, have offered to defend the City pro bono against any Second Amendment challenge, and listing legal arguments and precedents in our favor.

Re: Massachusetts town unhappy over FFL possibly opening

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From last week.
Newton residents speak out on proposed gun store rules
“I was shocked when I first learned there might be a gun store in Newton ... because the culture of Newton as being a safe place to be was threatened,” said Ilene Solomon, a Newton real estate agent with Coldwell Banker who called on officials to impose restrictive rules on firearm businesses.

“I feel threatened by this. I feel sick about it,” Solomon told officials Monday night.
About 9,300 people have signed an online petition urging officials to “take a stand” against the store, while nearly 2,000 people have joined a “Stop Gun Stores in Newton” Facebook group. A separate online petition supporting the store has about 800 signatures.
Newton's population is about 87,960.

Re: Massachusetts town unhappy over FFL possibly opening

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Bisbee wrote:Essentially the same reasons and tactics used to stop a mosque and Islamic community center from opening two blocks from the 9/11 memorial in NYC.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park51
Yup. And I was opposed to that argument then. Fear of things, practices and “others” (xenophobia or hoplophobia) that they don’t understand.

I get that it’s Massachusetts- and far be it from me to tell the people of Newton how to zone their town.

I don’t think it the law would pass muster in Ohio as Ohio has statewide preemption of gun laws. I think the second amendment “challenge” is pretty thin. Massachusetts already bans firearms “in common use” so they are already afoul of the heller decision as I see it.

I wouldn’t want to be an FFL dealer in Mass. FFS what a horrible ordeal. Plus, just imagine the frivolous lawsuits that are in the offing ...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: Massachusetts town unhappy over FFL possibly opening

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A win for firearm prohibitionists.
Newton City Council approves restrictive zoning regulations for gun shops
The regulations say firearm businesses would have to be located a certain distance away from homes and schools, and they would need to get a special permit from the city council.

This vote will likely prevent a proposed gun shop on Washington Street from opening.

Hundreds in Newton signed a petition in April to stop it from opening its doors.
Bear in mind that this occurred after the FFL had applied for approval. The town took this route because they were concerned a total ban would be challenged on constitutional grounds, as they indicated back in May:
Newton Gun Store Regulation Proposal At Standstill
The committee then held a three-hour zoning board meeting May 13 as a follow-up to discuss. They approved an amended version of the zoning proposal, which would require firearms dealers stick to certain areas of town, and keep a distance from schools and houses of worship.

"The planning department was very thoughtful in the way it created the zones with the restrictions and the buffers they created," Albright said during that meeting.
So instead the town has made it impossible for a firearm dealer to get approval to open.

Newton will be voting on a total ban on firearm dealers later this month.

Re: Massachusetts town unhappy over FFL possibly opening

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Newton did not back down. Edwards is referring to the town's decision to not try to impose a total ban.
Massachusetts Town Backs Down From Gun Store Ban
That didn’t go far enough for some activists, and on Monday night the city council was back in session debating an all-out ban on gun stores inside the city limits.
“I think that you have a reasonably good case that the Constitution does not guarantee the right to sell arms,” said Newton resident Peter Harrington.

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Here is a video of the 7/15 town meeting in which a ban on carry in publicly-owned spaces, including places leased to 3rd parties was discussed. The council members agreed not to worry about any cases in which armed residents, by stepping off their own property, might be in violation of the proposed ordinance because the police chief said LEOs would check it out and determine innocence. Also, violations of that type would be misdemeanors. Since none of the council members would be in such a situation, that was not viewed as a problem. Each council member who spoke was careful to preface his or her comments with assurances he or she did not own firearms.

Included in the discussion were mentions of the original proposal to ban FFLs in Newton and the zoning barrier they were able to enact.

https://vimeo.com/575558424#t=2940s

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Wellesley public hearing on gun shops set for Dec. 6
More formally, the proposed amendment “is to add a new section 16.I that no new building or structure shall be constructed or used, in whole or in part, and no building or structure, or part thereof, shall be altered, enlarged, reconstructed or used, and no land shall be used, in any part of the Town: “For the manufacture, sale, or lease of any Weapon, Machine Gun, Ammunition, Bump Stock, Large Capacity Feeding Device, Stun Gun, or Trigger Crank, or by any person engaged in the business of a Gunsmith in any zoning district. Each capitalized term shall have the definition set forth in G.L.c.140, § 121.”
For a bit more background on this, see the Nov. 22 Planning Board meeting recording on Wellesley Media at the 2-hour, 46-minute mark. The Board briefly discussed a potential zoning amendment for Annual Town Meeting around commercial gun shops.

“There are two ways of effectively controlling how our land is used in our commercial districts for gun shops, ” explained Board Chair Catherine Johnson. “We can ban the use, which is the way that the teaser for the warrant article says, or we can restrict it to a certain zone….There are no towns in Massachusetts that outright ban it.”

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