3-2 VOTES TO ESTABLISH FIREARM STORAGE IN LA MESA HOMES

July 28, 2024 (La Mesa) — The nationwide unrest of 2020 sparked whispers of defunding the police. Now, as that debate has flared up again, the lines between state objectivity and the intentions behind police oversight commissions are blurring, and citizens are taking a stand on home firearms laws.

“So you disappeared for three days, mayor, you disappeared during the riots, nobody could find him, and you’re going to do this? You’re a sad man,” said Gene Carpenter, a member of the La Mesa Advocacy Group.

Council member Colin Parent, who remembers being held at gunpoint, believes feeling safe in the community is a basic human right and preventing accidental discharge of firearms is a modest but appropriate step toward ensuring safety.

The La Mesa Community Police Board was formed three years ago and has been struggling to fill the city’s northeast seat, a vacant fourth seat that has gathered cobwebs this year. The structure behind the board should be made up of different sectors representing youth, business, education and religious communities. Each of the city’s four quadrants is designated by the jurisdiction’s police department and the city council.

According to Councilor Jack Shu (photo, right), believes it is crucial to provide de-escalation and negotiation tactics in the event of abuse or injustice issues. Shu believes the original intention was to provide guidance, not support for the police department like a pet or booster club, but to help the police improve and manage their complaint processes.

“The people on the board … are like police officers; they support law enforcement in general, but you have to recognize that law enforcement in general, and the culture of law enforcement in particular, requires citizen oversight. You can’t have police officers overseeing police officers.”

Andy Trimlett, a candidate for the Quadrant 4 board seat who served on the original team formed in 2016, has been filing applications month after month. Several board members don’t see the fundamental need to fill La Mesa’s fourth board seat, Shu said, and he believes it’s counterproductive to leave one part of the community underrepresented.

“Overall, I think the La Mesa Police Department is pretty good. Better than a lot of other police departments in our area. Probably one of the best, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive to continually improve, and overall, I think most people recognize that the culture of policing in the United States needs to be reformed in a variety of ways,” Shu said.

Janet Castanos (photo, left), vice chairwoman of the La Mesa Community Police Board, is introducing gun violence as a public health crisis. The bill under consideration to regulate the storage of firearms in homes would help reverse the statistical trend of preventing children or suicidal people from accessing firearms and reduce the likelihood of people breaking into homes to steal. She believes it’s a huge risk to public safety when officers in the city are under-armed and exposed to the threat of thieves.

“I’ve been working on this for many years because there’s a loophole in our legal system, in our California laws,” Shu said.

Last year, the same resolution came before the council, and the ordinance required that firearms be kept locked away at all times unless being used. Now, however, the resolution requires them to be kept only when the occupant is away from home.

“In other words, if a resident is at home, he can sleep with a gun under his pillow if he wants, if it makes him happy, but now they are saying if he leaves his home or goes on vacation, he should lock up his gun,” Castaños said.

On the other side is Councillor Laura Lothian, who wonders why the city is wasting government funds and effort on a non-issue. She recalls events 70 years ago when gun laws were less restrictive, and is quick to point out that since gun laws have become more stringent, violence has steadily increased, bringing with it the burden of even more deaths.

“I think it’s an overreach by the city or the government. We’re telling adults with no criminal records, no children in the house, how to store firearms in the privacy of their own home. It’s just not an issue,” Lothian said.

By using a gun cabinet, the security layer could simply slow down the brain by changing its chemistry, which would prevent suicide or acts of violence in which people are killed or injured, according to Shu. “If they want to go home and open up and carry, you know, five guns, that’s under their control and they can have full access to that.”

Castaños, retired dean of the Department of English and Social/Behavioral Sciences at Grossmont College, cites research that shows that when a gun is readily available and someone is experiencing a moment of depression, they will use the gun and it will be effective.

“We really need an ordinance that requires guns to be securely locked away with the owner, the homeowner or the gun owner outside the home. My neighbor had his house robbed. They had 3 long guns available, unlocked, the thieves took them along with the ammunition,” Castaños said.

The City Council voted to consider this resolution regulating the storage of firearms in homes, which ended in a 3-2 vote. Councilwoman Patricia N. Dillard, Councilman Colin Parent and Councilman Jack Shu approved the motion. However, Mayor Mark Arapostathis and Vice Mayor Laura Lothian voted against the safe storage of firearms.

“Even saving one person is worth it, but if we can save five, it’s a no-brainer. I can’t believe the mayor voted against it. His own student died because there was no safe storage of weapons here in La Mesa,” Castaños said.

Shu believes that worrying about someone’s mental health, whether they are over 18 or not, is an issue for everyone. He hopes that every household will take steps to remove or securely lock away guns, especially in the presence of someone with mental health issues, making it harder for people to have access to them.

“The most restrictive cities in the United States are the ones with the most gun violence, so I think we should be looking at the community more than gun laws,” Lothian said.

Michelle Gilgannon, an activist with San Diegans for Gun Violence Prevention, believes everyone, including parents and teachers, has a civic responsibility to educate themselves about gun safety. She encourages the community to seek alternative means instead of staying armed.

“If you live in a community, of course you’re going to make sure your doors are locked, you’ve got secure windows, you’re not going to act stupid. Common sense, safe things, you know, maybe don’t leave your kids at home at night. Arming yourself is not the answer to being safer, like I said, it’s quite the opposite,” Gilgannon said.

He believes another way to reduce unintentional gun use is through stricter regulations on gun manufacturers and sellers, such as the California Personal Firearms Eligibility Check (PFEC), with fines without a 72-hour waiting period. During the Cold War, Gilgannon recalls duck-and-go drills in case of an atomic bomb being dropped, and now children have active shooter drills that are becoming a social norm.

“I remember thinking to myself now that Trump got shot. Maybe Republicans are finally going to realize this is a problem. This 20-year-old had an AK-47 rifle—whatever, you know, it’s really sad,” Gilgannon said.

According to Gilgannon, statistically, it’s as hard to get started as a full-time job. Still, she’s confident these small steps in legislation will help speed up change because nothing happens overnight.

“The intention of the police oversight board is to provide oversight. It is not to directly support the police department. Although they could support the police department’s activities, it is not a pet club, but to help the police department improve,” Shu said.