Letter: Culver City Needs to Take a Stronger Stance Against Gun Violence

Following Monday night’s Culver City Council Meeting, Councilmember Meghan Sahli-Wells, described herself as “blindsided,” according to Ari Noonan’s online publication The Front Page.  

When I spoke to Culver City High School government classes encouraging them to attend the City Council meeting where gun violence would be on the agenda, I told them to listen carefully to what each council member said.

I wish the meeting had been full of high school students to witness Sahli-Wells as “a proud, visible and articulate activist in several dimensions of community life” who is “arguably more invested than her colleagues in aggressively plunging in, physically, where she believes wrong has been committed.” [Noonan’s description]

Sahli-Wells told the The Front Page, “There were four specific items we had agreed to take positions on.”

These four items were listed in the Gun Violence agenda item A-5:

1. Senator Dianne Feinstein’s proposed Assault Weapons Ban,
2. Mayors Against Illegal Guns,
3. Americans for Responsible Solutions—Gabby Gifford’s’ organization, and
4. President Obama’s Gun Violence Reduction Executive Orders

Sahli-Wells seemed baffled that she could not even get a second on her motion to approve all four items. “I am not sure what happened,” she said. “I don’t know if (the other four Council members) didn’t agree with me or didn’t know” the full contents of the gun control proposals.

Margo Bennett, executive director of Women Against Gun Violence (WAGV), who spoke at the meeting, posted the following on her Facebook page:

I was there and Meghan was truly a champion. She and all Culver City residents were let down by what I would describe as a hostile stance by the other council members.

The council approved only one of the items. According to Noonan, “what may have been the softest element, a 2 1/2 month old, much passed-around letter from the U.S. Conference of Mayors, calling for tightening gun laws. . .”

Sahli-Wells acknowledged that even though council’s vote was a heavily symbolic gesture, it was still important, “especially in light of recent tragic events. The fact that it is not specific legislation for our city should make it easy for the Council,” she said.

“Going in, I had the impression this was a no-brainer,” Sahli-Wells told Noonan. Sahli-Wells said she would not try to bring this back in an amended form, saying “I tried to move this forward in the best way.” She did add, however, “If a member of the public wants to, people are more than encouraged.”

I am one of those members of the public (Community Coalition for Prevention of Gun Violence) who is not willing to let this die. Our community deserves better than this from our City Council. Since I could not be present to speak at Monday’s meeting, I hand-delivered my written comments asking that they be read aloud into the public record.

According to Margo Bennett my comments were not read aloud, and neither were those of Disa and Margaret Lindgren.

I will be at the next City Council meeting on April 22 to read aloud my comments during the non-agenda Public Comment section.

I will also demand an additional three minutes to say what I have to say about Council Members’ “hostile stance” toward their courageous colleague Meghan Sahli-Wells at the April 8 meeting.

I hope to be joined by a whole host of Culver City residents who challenge our City Councilmembers to model behavior befitting their office; behavior that a room full of high school students would do well to emulate.

Meghan Sahli-Wells has already provided that model. Newtown deserves a real up-or-down vote from Culver City!

“I wanted to see what real courage is instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.”  - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

Sincerely,

Carlene Brown, MA.Ed.

Editor's note: Letters may be edited for brevity and clarity.

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