One E. Cleveland councilman knows you can't just drive off when attacked in car

Gun shop is 'last thing' E. Cleveland needs, chief says
Cleveland Plain Dealer
11/14/03

East Cleveland- Opening a gun shop in East Cleveland would be like tossing a lighted match into a box of explosives, as far as Police Chief Patricia Lane is concerned.

Lane wants City Council to ban firearms sales in East Cleveland as a pre-emptive strike against a man who recently asked about operating a gun shop at Euclid Avenue and Noble Road.

East Cleveland's laws allow gun shops in commercial areas like Euclid and Noble, Lane said. Dealers need a federal license, approval from the city's Board of Zoning Appeals and the police chief's permission. Lane said she could deny the request but would prefer an all-encompassing ban.

Lane told the man she could not give him an application because the city, which has not dealt with such a request for years, no longer had the necessary forms.

"The last thing we need in this city is another gun dealer - legal or illegal," Lane told council members Wednesday.

Four of the five City Council members agreed to sponsor legislation outlawing gun stores. The holdout, Councilman O. Mays, said he was not certain a ban was necessary.

He questioned whether a gun shop would cause crime to increase and suggested that background checks required for gun buyers already provide protection.

Click on the 'Read More..." link below to learn about the victimization experienced by this one Cleveland councilperson, which has obviously opened his eyes to the realities of the failure of gun control.

Mays was shot in the hand in May. He said he was driving slowly on Woodworth Avenue in Cleveland when another man jumped into the car and the two wrestled for the attacker's gun, which went off. The man escaped.

Mays also said he was reluctant to discourage any business from moving into the struggling city. He used the same argument two years ago when a council majority opposed a liquor store that eventually opened at Euclid Avenue and Lee Road.

Lane said that when it comes to new business, the city "can find something better than a gun dealer."

Commentary:
According to the story, East Cleveland police have investigated more than 80 gun-related incidents this year, including seven murders. Officers have seized 99 guns from a city that covers just three square miles.

All this crime and victimization has occurred without a gun store within city limits for some time. What better proof does Chief Lane (or these five councilpersons) need that gun control does not work to stop criminals?

Why is Chief Lane working to support prohibition legislation in her city that would ban a legitimate business, which provides a product which millions of people use each year to protect their very lives?

Why does only one councilperson see the truth? Perhaps that question is easier to answer - Councilman Mays has been attacked in his car, and knows all too well what it feels like to be a defenseless victim.

Chief of Police
Patricia Lane
14340 Euclid Ave.
East Cleveland, Ohio 44112
(216)681-2379

Click here to read the story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.