The City and Borough of Juneau Assembly approved the appeal of a Juneau Mercantile and Armory LLC permit to build an indoor gun range and retail space.
The permit was approved by the CBJ Planning Commission on Dec. 14. The Juneau chapter of Veterans for Peace submitted the appeal to the CBJ municipal clerk on Jan. 2.
“We were concerned about the idea of a shooting range in which people were going to be allowed to handle weapons of war,” Phil Smith, president of the Juneau Chapter of Veterans for Peace, said in an earlier interview with the Empire, “The idea of stuffing an arsenal of these things five minutes from the airport raised our concerns. Many of us are combat veterans and we know exactly what these weapons can do. They are not toys.”
City Attorney John Hartle said there was no reason not to hear the appeal. The assembly agreed unanimously to hear the appeal themselves. Members appointed Assembly Member Loren Jones as the hearing officer.
The commission approved the permit request to build a 13,000 square foot gun range and retail space on a property at 1720 Crest Street near the airport.
There was no public comment.
Attorney Hartle asked assembly member to refrain from speaking about the appeal with the public.
• Contact reporter Russell Stigall at 523-2276 or at russell.stigall@juneauempire.com.
Comments (41)
Add commentmy 2nd amendment right is so being assaulted right now
just kidding. No one should be complaining about 2nd amendment rights when this has absolutely nothing to do with them. Appealing an indoor firing range by a particular special interest group does not infringe on anyone's rights. No laws are being introduced and in fact the city had to create an exemption of a city ordinance just to allow the firing range in the first place.
Don't character assassinate the special interest group because it appears less than genuine. I hope those who opposed the appeal showed up last night to voice their thoughts. I have no affiliation with the VFP and personally don't care about the firing range. I just found the majority of comments in the article yesterday to be pathetic and immature. Hopefully some people have done some growing up since then.
Against Everything
Whatever is in Juneau we are against it.Phil Smith what cruise ship did you fall from?I am a vet,I bet you never seen a minute of combat.Sitting at your computer stirring the cookie jar.Everything in this town is 5 minutes from the airport.The building is already under construction,find something else to do like a one way trip south.............
Volunteer military.
Since there is no draft, this venue would be a good place to locate recruiters. They could offer a free turn on an M2 for signing up.
What is the age cutoff to join?
Free Choice
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." - Benjamin Franklin
Business decisions...
I've worked on building projects and one thing you don't need is uncertainty. If this city wants private investments, issue permits and move forward.
I can only second
cheeesypoof's second paragraph: I hope you all showed up last night to air your concerns.
Do yourselves a favor and don't embarrass yourselves with the kind of puerile commentary featured in yesterday's article on the same subject: It reflects badly on our nation's veterans and gun owners, and gives the false impression that the vast majority are afraid to use their names or participate in public process.
Jamison Paul
Gun Buyback Program
Why is this extreme fringe group opposing this gun range? This gun range would be the perfect place for this little group to actually establish a respectable place in the community by holding regular gun buyback events. Gun buybacks are proving a popular release for those anti-gun folks and it sure beats doing gay-pride stunts at the J-D parades each year.
I have yet
to finds anything positive with the VFP folk. They as bad as LCCC in that thier entire objective is to cause problems with any and all because they like thier name in the paper or standing on street corners.
That said, I, nor anyone else, butt into whatever it is they do on thier time off. Why do they feel it is required that they butt thier nose in where it isnt thier concern.
I, too, am a vet. A combat vet which means I carried and use weapons in a war. I was also a cop and carried but never had to fire a weapon. I have not used a weapon illegally, EVER. And those wanting to use a range are of the same mind. Maybe the VFP is concerned because they have some members that would.
There are most likely more weapons within 5 minutes of the airport in private homes than will be at that range. Is thier plan to invade those homes next.
As a song I remember said "get off my cloud".
What a waste of time. There
What a waste of time. There was already a process this went through and it was approved. I would rather see the assembly working on actual problems. Most things in Juneau are within 5 to 10 minutes from the airport.
Lets move on.
I hear my military style
I hear my military style weapon whipsering at night. It is telling me to buy ammo. Its odd in that I have never heard a 45-70 whisper before. Should I be worried?
Big Dan
I hope this place gets built. I haven't had the chance to fire a full auto M16 or any other full auto gun since I retired from the military 20 plus years ago. I'd make a couple extra trips into the big city every year just to rock and roll at this place. Besides, it's time for another decent gun store to open up there. The two big box stores are a joke, and western auto isn't much better. Even Rayco sales has problems keeping certain ammo in stock, like the ammo for my WSM.
Kp
I whisper to my .45-70, but it never whispers back. Should I be worried? Maybe because it has a lot of ammo. Maybe if you buy it some ammo it will shut up.
Nope,
I still consider it a mistake to reopen any hearings on the issue! In doing so the City IS causing harm, period, and could/should be held liable for any monetary harm caused to the business/property owners. It will be public revenue used to rectify any harm done, thereby also harming the public coffers! In other words VFP has created a “Lose/Lose” situation. Sad.
I am glad there is no pressing issue
I glad that the Assembly can find nothing better or more productive to do with their time than hear this appeal. We all should feel good about living in Juneau knowing housing, economic growth, the budget, education, police, fire, hospital, airport, docks and harbors, transportation are all operating smoothly and needs no attention from the Assembly. We should all be darn proud on how well run this City/Borough is!
Poor...
Poor poor decission. They should rename themselves "Hippy pot smoking non-combat veterans upset that they missed Woodstock".
Now, a real "Veterans for Peace" organization would be one that abided by their oath and made every effort to uphold and defend the Constitution. They would protest unconstitutional foreign wars, unconstitutional laws, etc. They would not go after businesses that already went through the city assembly because they simply don't like the business.
In my opinion, the members of this organization betrayed their oaths.
Why am I not surprised.......
....that in any other story, the same people who vehmently stick up for any and all military anything suddenly have an issue with these particular combat veterans, just because they are using their 1st amendment rights to advocate for peace.
Talk about the pinnacle of hypocricy. If vets deserve our respect, they ALL deserve our respect.
"weapons of war" What the
"weapons of war" What the hell are weapons of war? In Vietnam they also used shot guns and revolvers. Are they weapons of war now? Is a Jeep or HUMVEE a vehicle of war? Is a J3 Cub a plane of war?
yes, lets build it
So that we can teach another mentally unstable teen how to shoot an assualt rifle..
sorry for double post
..
Ya, hero.
Let's destabilize more teens with 1st amendment sanctioned video games and lack of (azz) beatings [LOB].
This is a small community. We
This is a small community. We are all impacted by what others are permitted to do. I am also very concerned about the environment Juneau kids are growing up in and what they will become because of it.
I don't want Juneau kids to be learning how to shoot automatic weapons. I also am against the fact that our kids are learning how to make cherry bombs in Juneau and they are being taught that setting these things off near homes and near people is ok! This has to come to an end because it is NOT OK to be doing this! We should NOT ALLOW BOMBS to be set off at random near people. Good lord what is happening to this town.
Many kids in Juneau don't even have stable homes or stable parents but they are learning about automatic weapons and how to make cherry bombs. CBJ, the public needs to have a very serious conversation about what is happening in Juneau.
abnotey, we don't "allow"
abnotey, we don't "allow" kids to make or set off bombs. There are laws prohibiting that. They just have to get caught. Laws don't usually prevent something from happening. They are just a means to punish unlawful behavior.
Abotney, they will be
Abotney, they will be teaching kids and adults to shoot sensibly and to treat all firearms with respect. AND if you have a ton of extra dough and want to unleash a very short but expensive burst of lead, they will accomodate. Thats it. And who is training kids to make cherry bombs? Is it a school function? No? Its just kids making explosives? Obviously you were not a normal kid. I grew up making all manner of explosives and blowing branches off trees. One of the reasons I loves Chemistry class! Don't all kids do this?
skirkz
there you are, old buddy!
Remind me again of the story of the kids who used their call of duty disks to do a mass murder. I love that one.
james holmes
the man who was responsible for the aurora shootings was obsessed with guitar hero! I knew it! it was guitars that caused it all!! BOYCOTT GUITAR HERO!!
I'll tell you what didn't help him commit those murders.. guns. right guys?!?!
How about the psych drugs he
How about the psych drugs he was on? You know the ones that have side effects of violent irrational behavior? Yeah, no chance they had anything to do with it...
Could have been worse . . .
IIRC, they originally intended to have a bar in the same facility. At least that got dropped (or did it?) Automatic weapons, booze and exploding targets. It just doesn't get any better than that, does it?
Wait a sec, add a small movie theather so you can watch Rambo before you get started!!! Yeeee Haaaaaw !!!
Weapons...
Weapons of war?
Jonestown: 918 dead because they drank the kool-aid
9/11: 6,000+ dead, planes were the weapon
216 BC Battle of Canae: 70,000 dead IN ONE DAY, swords and bows
Crusades, combined: 9,000,000, swords, bows and religion
What exactly are you guys talking about? People have ALWAYS been mentally unstable. Weapons of war can be as simple as the closest blunt/sharp/any object. As far as mental stability, how's 9 million dead in the Crusades because multiple religions want to claim a city. How's that for mental stability? Or 918 dead from a religious cult because they wanted to poison men, women and CHILDREN!
Firing fully automatic weapons at a firing range won't make murderers. If anything, they might learn a bit about firearms safety. And how many kids have ended up shooting each other in Juneau because they were never taught how to respect a firearm? PS3 is no substitute for learning how much damage a firearm can do in real life!
FYI VFP, I'm also a Vet for Peace. Just a constitutional realistic one. And I'm proud to say I will NEVER support your organization!
wren
Yes, instead of letting teens be oblivious on how to properly use a gun, let's teach them about how to turn a safety on or off, adjusting sights, the best way to reload a weapon and so on and so forth. Surely this will not cause any problems, right Nancy Lanza?
kpawsuh
There is always an excuse, isnt there?
By the way, what psych drugs was Adolf Hitler on again?? I forgot.