READERS RESPOND

The issue: Huntington Beach is considering limiting public use of a new

shooting facility, raising the ire of some residents.

Re: “Surf City’s gun range might limit public’s use,” Aug. 26. I’ve used

the public gun range and the Firing-Line Indoor Shooting Range, which is

indoors off Talbert, and there’s really not that much of a demand. If

people want to shoot, they can go to the firing line and pay the price to

use their facilities, or rent their weapons, or they can even go to

Irvine’s South Coast Gun Club, which has rifles, shotguns and pistols.

It’s a lot of fun, and if they want to pay $20-$30, they can be there all

day. I don’t think Huntington Beach should have a public gun range when

there are a lot of other options available.

JIM COSPER

Huntington Beach

I’m not necessarily a gun enthusiast, but I do own a firearm and when I

want practice, I go to the Firing-Line Indoor Shooting Range. It is a

very nice range and it costs a very small amount of money to shoot. I

think it’s ridiculous that the city is going to spend money building a

range for public use. We need the money for other things. Even though I

do enjoy shooting my gun once in a while, I have plenty of opportunity to

go elsewhere, and it doesn’t cost a lot of money to do that. I don’t

think the city should be stuck in a position of building a range and

losing money on it, when they should just build one for the Police

Department.

BRUCE PARDUE

Huntington Beach

I have owned a home in Huntington Beach since 1962 and have used the gun

range since it opened in the late 1960s. Since there is no other place to

shoot, I would respectfully ask the City Council to open an open-air

range instead of a closed-in range.

MARTIN LEVINE

Huntington Beach

I think it’s ludicrous that people might not be able to use the proposed

range for public use. I myself know plenty of people, men and women, in

the area who would love to shoot, not only at a public range, but

alongside police officers so they can share ideas. It’s just sad that one

more time the general public is shoved under because someone else feels

that there may not be a need for it. If they were actually out there

asking, they might find a different story.

CLAY TERRY

Huntington Beach

What your article on the “Surf City gun range limiting public use”

doesn’t point out is that the residents of the community built the

original gun range in Central Park and it was a public range. The fact

that the Police Department ultimately managed to push the public off is

neither here nor there. If there’s going to be a new facility built, it’s

going to have to include the public or the public is not going to support

the new facility. I think that’s really important to understand.

DENNIS DAVENPORT

Huntington Beach

I don’t see the need to spend all that money on a shooting gallery. I say

do like all the other police departments. They lease a place for officers

to shoot and practice. We could probably make a deal with Long Beach,

which still has a police-only range. Citizens are not permitted. Like

Corona ... lease a portion of a gun range for training police. There are

a lot of alternatives, but I don’t think building one just for the police

is a good way to go. Tom Harman said he didn’t think there were many

people running around town looking for a gun range, but I’m one of them.

I have to drive 35 minutes to probably one of the biggest ranges around.

ZOLLIE BYRD

Huntington Beach

I was reading the article about the gun range open for public use in

Huntington Beach, and I think it’s a good idea. I think people are always

looking for safe places to go practice shooting.

MIKE GREEN

Fountain Valley

Limiting public access to public range? Tom Harman has not got his finger

on what people want in this town. This man wants to represent us on a

state level. The nearest range from here is about 50 miles right now.

It’s up in the mountains. There used to be about four ranges up there,

and three of them have been closed, so there’s much interest in shooting

right now. Most of my friends and most people who live in this town are

shooting enthusiasts and hunters. The three ranges in the national forest

have been closed for a year, and I think that a public facility in

Huntington Beach would be a moneymaker.

ALEX BENEDETTINI

Huntington Beach