An upcoming gun show at the Saratoga Springs City Center has drawn a volley of protest from residents who were “shocked and dismayed” that the city would allow such an event in wake of the school shooting in Newtown, Conn, and led the City Council to adopt a resolution urging organizers of the show not to display or sell semiautomatic firearms.
Cries of outrage and pleas for a time of healing echoed through the City Council chambers during a standing-room-only council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 2. Susan Steer, who started a petition to stop the show that has amassed more than 1,200 signatures, summed up the sentiments of those in opposition.
“I was completely shocked. I was very upset that a gun show would be held in our city just a few days after the recent tragic events,” she said.
Steer, who is the mother of three children and a maternity nurse at Saratoga Hospital, said she started the petition because she was not getting results by approaching City Center officials.
“The City Center and the city needs to take a step back and think about what kind of activities we want in this public space,” said Steer. “Since the shootings, three gun shows thus far have been cancelled. It’s not about money but saving lives, including children’s lives. It’s truly a time to step back. Not having a gun show right now is a way that this local community can effect a change.”
Comments from the public members came in rapid succession and all speakers felt a resolution drafted by Public Safety Commissioner Christian Mathiesen was not worded strongly enough. That resolution called for vendors not to display semiautomatic firearms.
Most speakers called for the gun show to be cancelled altogether, but council members said the City Center had a binding contract with NEACA, the gun show sponsor, and the city had no legal power to cancel the event.
Mary Beth Delarm, a victim of domestic violence, said she was protesting the gun show as “one voice of hundreds of thousands of women who are victims”
“Because of all of the women who have been murdered, I beg for someone in this city to do something about the show,” she said.
Resident Phil Diamond called for a more proactive approach.
“If we use our First Amendment right to battle their Second Amendment rights, let’s be as noisy and disruptive as we can,` he said.
“We’re in a post Newtown world,” said resident Charlie Samuels. “This has changed everything. This is a watershed moment and I think we should reconsider this.”
Bob Turner questioned the public policy of selling weapons in a taxpayer subsidized building.
“If we don’t feel safe, we have lost the liberties we fought so hard for,” he said.
William McTygue said the resolution simply was not worded strongly enough.
“As a community we can choose to be ambivalent or we can take a stand,” he said.
After hearing public comments, Mathiesen said promoters for the show had assured him they would be complying with the council’s request to not display certain guns. This was answered by cries of “Not good enough!” from audience members.
Finance Commissioner Michele Madigan agreed.
“With all due respect, if we can’t do something, then who can?” said Madigan. “This will be a healing gesture to say in the resolution ‘we respectfully request that vendors not display or sell semiautomatic weapons.’”
After a back-and-forth discussion between the council and City Attorney Tony Izzo over the wording, the council unanimously approved an amended resolution.
This was met by a round of cheers from the audience, but Mayor Scott Johnson reminded those in attendance the resolution has no legal power.
“The issue is what we can do as a community within the bounds of the law,” said Johnson. “This is an issue long overdue to be considered and dealt with by the country as a whole, not just our community.”
Department of Public Works Commissioner Anthony Scirocco went one step further. He called for a gun buyback program.
“I can find a few thousand in my budget to get one started,” he said.
This idea met with approval from other council members as well members of the audience. After the meeting, Scirocco said he and Mathiesen would research what other communities are doing and that he hopes to present a proposal for a buyback program at the next City Council meeting.