Today has got my little feathers in a bunch. There are two major issues on my little mind and they’ve got me feeling a little conflicted.
It’s June 2, and the date marks the second annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day. There have been a number of terrible tragedies involving guns both at the national and local levels. On the Central Coast, there are numerous gun crimes that take place on our streets, which apparently don’t qualify as tragedies because they involve criminals, and perhaps we value their lives less. Nonetheless, it’s still gun violence. And so for all those whose lives were lost because of someone holding a gun, June 2 is a day to wear orange and honor his or her memory.
However, in the run-up to this day of recognition a bundle of bills placing restrictions on guns began to make its way to the state Assembly.
In many ways this seems like a win for gun control advocates, coming at the perfect time. However, there is another issue at play that bothers me and it has nothing to do with being on either side of the gun debate.
What bothers me, and my journalistic sensibilities, is the fact that it felt like a secret. There was no fanfare about the bills being introduced or moving forward. They just sort of did and everyone sort of shuffled their feet and looked away.
I hate secrets. At best they make people feel left out. At worst, they can be dangerous.
I don’t know if there were some government interests trying to slip this bundle of bills by or if media just wasn’t doing their job. Searching for any media reporting resulted in just two articles.
Whichever side you land on the topic of guns, the quiet way that these gun bills passed through the Senate should give you pause. It greases the path for other bills to slip past the public’s unknowing eye.
It doesn’t just happen at the state or national level either.
On another, perhaps less significant level, the Lompoc Chamber of Commerce pulled its own version of quietly making changes by voting to approve an increase in its membership fees.
Starting July 1 the Chamber will implement a tiered dues membership. While the new lowest level of membership of $150 a year will remain similar to the current membership, that level is stripped of most of the Chamber’s business benefits. The top tier, with full access, costs $1,800 a year. Some business owners are upset because they are now priced out of membership that would give them the benefits for which the Chamber exists for in the first place.
According to Chamber President/CEO Ken Ostini, the board created and voted to implement the system but didn’t notify members, opting to instead notify members individually as their memberships become eligible for renewal.
Longtime Chamber member Mike Sewall of Alfie’s Fish and Chips restaurant said the tiered membership creates a class system. In a letter to the editor he also took issue with the fact that it was implemented without input from membership.
As Sewall and now other businesses owners know, it’s no fun to be left out of the decision process about something that affects you.
The Canary sleeps with one eye open. Contact her at canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jun 2-9, 2016.