Wicked Local
With more than 500 attendees on Zoom and likely many more watching on NewTV Monday, multiple residents voiced their strong opinions on what should be done about potential firearms dealers in the city.
Rabbi Allison Berry, speaking for herself and the Newton Interfaith Clergy Association, called dealerships, “stores that sell violence,” while another speaker who held the opposite point of view said “the world did not end” when Newton previously had gun shops that sold legal weapons and supplies.
Some speakers, citing the Second Amendment, demanded firearms dealers be treated like any other business while others told tragic stories about gun violence during the public hearing held by the City Council’s Zoning and Planning Committee (ZAP) on the proposed firearms zoning ordinance.
Newton residents speak out on proposed gun store rules
By John Hilliard Globe Staff,Updated May 11, 2021, 12:48 p.m.
Email to a Friend
Newton officials and many residents are fighting a proposed gun shop at 709 Washington St. in Newtonville.Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff
Dozens of Newton residents weighed in Monday night on proposed rules to regulate gun stores and other firearms businesses, some making passionate cases to city officials about the role gun ownership and the Second Amendment should play in the city.
The zoning rules for firearms dealers, proposed late last month by Fuller and all 24 city councilors, would impose strict limits on the location and operation of firearms dealers, gunsmiths, and gun ranges