Letter of Support to Governor Schwarzenegger for SB 585 (LENO)

The Honorable Arnold Schwarzenegger
Member of the California State Government
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-558-3160

The C.L.A.E.R. Project
Executive Director Sharen Hewitt
1099 Sunnydale Avenue
San Francisco, CA 92134
Phone: 415-333-3017
Fax: 415.587.7481

RE: SB 585, a Bill to Ban Gun Shows at the Cow Palace

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:

I am writing to inform you why you should sign SB 585, a bill that is on your desk waiting for your signature.

For the past eight years I have acted as the Executive Director of the Community Leadership Academy and Emergency Response Project (C.L.A.E.R.), an organization attempting to mitigate the effects of violence, and specifically gun violence, on San Francisco residents. My organization is located in the Visitacion Valley, and has offices in Sunnydale public housing, which is not only the largest public housing site in San Francisco, but also steps from the Cow Palace, where gun and ammunition shows occur throughout the year.

The dichotomy between these two sites couldn’t be more glaring. On one side of the street sits a community that has been experiencing disinvestment, poverty, and senseless violence for decades. On the other side of the street sits a building that profits from the very items that continually threaten these people’s lives. The Cow Palace, the NRA, and the CRPA would like for you to believe that the guns in Sunnydale public housing and throughout San Francisco’s Southeast sector don’t come from the Cow Palace, so the gun shows are totally benign. The C.L.A.E.R. Project would like you to know that the juxtaposition between these two sites, and the message that it sends to the more than 38% children living there, is more than reason enough to sign the legislation.

Cow Palace CEO Joe Barket has made the claim that the loss of gun shows at the Cow Palace would represent a significant revenue decrease, but this simply isn’t true. SBS 585 requires a three year phase out period for the gun shows, and also requires that the district replace those events with nonfirearm and nonammunition events to recoup revenue. C.L.A.E.R. believes that the Cow Palace can be utilized in much more positive ways and still prosper.

Having gun sales directly across the street from a neighborhood plagued by gun violence sends the message to residents that their lives are expendable. C.L.A.E.R. wants to this neighborhood to know that we think their lives have meaning, and that the State of California agrees.

Sincerely,

Sharen Hewitt
Executive Director


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