In possibly the most shameful move the Glendale City Council majority has ever made, Councilman Rafi Manoukian exploited the Sandy Hook school shooting to garner national attention and push forward a ban on the Gun Show at the Glendale Auditorium. Despite public outcry supporting the gun show the motion carried on a 3-2 vote.
Clearly little public policy examination or consideration was given to this issue, because the gun show generates tens of thousands of revenue of the city every weekend it is in operation. Also, there is no evidence that gun shows increase any public safety risk. This idea is purely reactionary.
The three council members who voted for the ban ought to be recalled. Not only are these individuals unfit to serve because they lack common sense, they also severely lack the decency to resist the urge to use a national tragedy to garner self glorification and score cheap political points. Perhaps the most despicable aspect of this egotistical mission is that the idea to ban the gun show is not new, it was originally proposed in 2006 by Councilman Manoukian. Using the death of innocent children at the hands of a psychopath to push an already existing agenda is nothing short of disgusting.
Rafi Manoukian is not solving any problem and he is not trying to make anyone safer. He is using the blood of children to promote an idea he dreamed up 7 years ago. As a politician I'm sure Councilman Manoukian is familiar with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's mantra "Never let a crisis go to waste." Clearly he does not intend to do that. I would hope those with common sense would not allow this type of despicable action to go unchallenged.
Email Councilman Manoukian to let him know that his actions are misguided at manoukiancouncil@gmail.com
