Our View: Gray’s compromise on gun permit info makes sense
Our commitment to open government hasn’t changed, but we liked the changes Adam Gray made to his Assembly Bill 1154 before its passage in committee last week.
As originally written, the bill would have removed the addresses and phone numbers from the list of those granted concealed-carry permits by county sheriffs and city police chiefs. That would have left only the names.
First, those removals would have diminished what every citizen is allowed to know about what their government is doing. Second, it would have made it difficult to know just who was getting the permits. In other parts of California, some less-than-scrupulous law enforcement officials have granted permits to a few people who live outside their jurisdictions or to campaign contributors who shouldn’t have them. Without the ability to pinpoint who is getting the permits, finding such lapses becomes far more difficult for community watchdogs.
Gun owners, though, fear for their safety (which might be why they want guns in the first place). Though they’re armed, some don’t want anyone to know where they live.
Gray listened to our objections, and the day of the vote he amended his bill. As passed, it includes the hometowns and ZIP codes of permit holders – but not the street address and phone number. It’s not quite the same, but it does provide the same information found on lists of political contributors. It’s not a bad compromise.
In Love
Last weekend’s turnout for Love Merced was outstanding. More than 1,400 came out to work on parks, do painting projects, clean-ups, fix-ups and more. It was nice to see so much getting done. But the thing we liked the best? That so many young people from UC Merced and Merced College decided to pitch in. Such projects, along with the annual Art Walk and other fun events, helps forge a better bond between community and campus.
Unhealthy numbers
The numbers weren’t surprising, but that makes them no less troubling. That one in six children in our Valley suffers from asthma is sad, but that hasn’t changed in a decade. That so many of our neighbors suffer from diabetes makes us shake our head, not in disbelief but in dismay. That so many Valley residents are overweight merits a shrug. What is surprising, and very troubling, is the costs that all these maladies incur. That the Central Valley Health Policy Institute puts the cost of diabetes at nearly $600 million is staggering. That asthma costs $150 million is breathtaking. Add those to the supposed cost of inactivity ($1.6 billion) and we’re well over $2 billion. Worse, the solutions aren’t exactly obvious. Often the air is so bad, exercising can be difficult and can trigger asthma attacks. While we have the greatest variety and abundance of food found anywhere in the world, healthy eating can become a lower priority when you’re rushing from one part-time job to another. Poverty is at the root of many of our health issues. And poverty is something ill health feeds on.
Smile for the camera
We heartily approve of Livingston’s decision to equip its police officers with body cameras. In this era of hyper-scrutiny on the actions of police officers, the cameras work for both sides in a dispute. Mayor pro tem Gurpal Samra called them independent witnesses, which is a fairly apt description. It’s not that everyone will be on their best behavior when facing a camera, but it’s certain no one wants to look bad on video. In places where such cameras are in use, the biggest supporters are police officers whose stories are borne out by video evidence far more frequently than not.
This story was originally published April 24, 2015 at 5:01 PM with the headline "Our View: Gray’s compromise on gun permit info makes sense."