The Wellesley Planning Board will address zoning for gun shops at its May 5 meeting and then is holding a public meeting on June 7 at 6:30pm to further discuss a proposed amendment to the Zoning Bylaw that would ban gun makers and shops in town.
From what we can see, no mention of “gun” or “firearm” exists in the Wellesley Zoning Bylaw.
The proposed amendment is to add a new section 16.I that no new building or structure shall be constructed or used, in whole or in part, and no building or structure, or part thereof, shall be altered, enlarged, reconstructed or used, and no land shall be used, in any part of the Town: “For the manufacture, sale, or lease of any Weapon, Machine Gun, Ammunition, Bump Stock, Large Capacity Feeding Device, Stun Gun, or Trigger Crank, or by any person engaged in the business of a Gunsmith inany zoning district. Each capitalized term shall have the definition set forth in G.L.c.140,§ 121.”The purpose of the hearing is to allow interested persons the opportunity to express their views and opinions on the proposed amendment.
Residents seeking to participate in the public meeting should email dmccauley@wellesleyma.gov prior to the meeting.
The public meeting will be shown on TV and streamed live, and will be available for later viewing on Wellesley Media.
While no gun shops exist in Wellesley, several do in Natick, and shops can also be found in other nearby communities such as Framingham and Dedham.
For some possible background – there’s a gun shop attempting to open in Newton that’s causing quite a stir:
https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2021/04/22/gun-shop-newton
I was going to write to the Select Board and ask them where the Town stood on this issue. Apparently I’m too slow in writing them, and if I had, I’d’ve written to the wrong board. They’re all over it!
Thanks for sharing Jason
As a Newton resident, I encourage Wellesley residents to get out in front of this one ASAP. As we’ve learned the hard way, if you don’t place zoning regulations /restrictions on the location of gun stores, they can open by right – without a special permit – on walking routes to multiple schools.
This proposed amendment smacks of bigotry and civil rights violations.
Why ban gun shops in town? Are they afraid criminals will shop there? Or it will somehow increase the trafficking of firearms? Does somebody really think that, if a town does not have a gun store, then crime will go down or it will be safer in that town? This is all laughable.
To be averse to the opening of a gun store betrays one’s hysteria. Also, look up the definition of a bigot. People who support this proposed amendment are bigots – plain and simple. Licensed gun owners are some of the most law abiding and good people around. Also, gun ownership is a fundamental civil right.
My prediction is that they will not approve this amendment because they know that in the end it will cost the town a tidy sum and they will lose in court. But it will be fun watching all the pearl clutching at the town meeting.
You have the right to bear arms but there is no constitutional right to be able to buy arms in your town. As for gun ownership, the statistics are clear. The states with the strictest laws, where it it is the hardest to get guns, are the states with the least gun deaths.
Scientific American says: “More guns are linked to more crimes”: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/more-guns-do-not-stop-more-crimes-evidence-shows/
RAND Corp says: “Increases in the prevalence of gun ownership are associated with increases in violent crime”: https://www.rand.org/research/gun-policy/analysis/essays/firearm-prevalence-violent-crime.html
The evidence may be open to debate (as those articles point out), but it is certainly not “laughable”.
Though I probably shouldn’t try to have a rational conversation with someone who appropriates the language of the civil rights movement and anti-bigotry to support opening gun stores, which obviously has nothing to do with either. Aren’t there supposed to be moderators on here??
Be careful when you throw around words like “laughable” and “bigot.”
There is nothing laughable about trying to keep one’s community safe. There is nothing laughable about seeing kids in school or people at workplaces, houses of worship, supermarkets, or concerts mowed down. No other civilized society has the gun violence we do. No one has the rate of gun suicides we do. It is quite logical, not laughable, that communities would seek to reduce or certainly not increase the prevalence of guns in the community. Gun shops mean more guns in circulation and potentially getting into the wrong hands. I support Wellesley’s effort 100%.
As to your comment that we are bigots who are prejudiced against licensed gun holders, that is ridiculous. In fact, if you did your research you would realize that licensed, lawful gun holders share our views.
What’s laughable is the idea that gun shops enable/cause crime. They don’t. Bad people cause crime. The largest cities (Chicago,DC,…) with rampant crime already have strict gun control with no gun shops.
Gun shop clientele are some of the most law abiding and safety conscious people around. The fear mongering about gun shop clientele is where the bigotry comes into play. This clientele holds different beliefs than some people yet they are merely trying to exercise a fundamental civil right – and some people do not like it – so they are pushed out of town (with an amendment like this) disallowing gun shops. Bigotry.
As for the other comment: “no constitutional right to be able to buy arms in your town”. Frederick Douglas disagrees with you. It is most definitely a right to open a gun store. Some people simply do not understand EACH fundamental civil right.