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Paul Cummings, 1000 Broadway, Suite 500, Oakland, health educator with the Alameda County Public Health Department said he saw violence as public health issue, not just as a law enforcement issue. He said firearms are closely associated with violence. Statistics say 74 % of 1200 murders in Alameda County were committed with firearms and 44% of 800 suicides were committed with firearms. Firearms are more lethal than any other weapons. He believed that things could be done to make firearms safer. He showed a teddy bear (Pete) and said there were more safety regulations for the teddy bear than there were on firearms. Eric Muetterties, 8151 Vomac Court, Dublin, did not want someone to die accidently from a gun. He believed Pleasanton should invest its time and resources in educating people on gun safety. He suggested having a Pleasanton Gun Awareness week. Andres Soto, Richmond, said that under the proposed ordinance the residential dealers would be out of conformance with the home occupation code and would have to relocate. The crime bill of 1994 said documentation must be shown that businesses are in compliance with state and local laws. He said the ordinance would be an effective law federally and would tie into what was done locally. He listed numerous associations that supported the ordinance. In regards to legal fees in the West Hollywood case, West Hollywood did not choose to use free legal service made available to it. He mentioned making small firearms available for women only increased the number of suicides among women and most of the women who carry small firearms probably carried them illegally. He told Council not to have an election, but rather to make the decision. There was a break at 9:30 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 9:40 p.m. William Rae, 909 Shorepoint Court, D-320, believed this was only a precursor to more strict bans. He felt there is no problem in Pleasanton with firearm sales and until there is a problem, gun shows should be allowed to continue. Ted Crowton, 6013 Acadia Court, indicated his grandmother had a gun to protect herself. He supported the Eddie Eagle program and indicated it came from a federal document. The goal is to protect children. He also quoted from Governor Wilson's statement and indicated only 16% of the guns seized are Saturday Night Specials. He believed there is a growing number of women who want to have handguns to protect themselves. Geoff Cooper, 7534 Flagstone, endeavored to explain the logic behind the Planning Commission decision. Firearm sales at the fairgrounds is appropriate because they are well regulated. With regard to the FFL's, the Planning Commission heard no information of violations by these people. He wanted to see the evidence if there were such violations. Home sales should be conditionally permitted and he felt a gunsmith is a justifiable home occupation. From a personal viewpoint, he believed that there is reasonable debate about product safety, but Pleasanton City Council 11 02/09/98 Minutes