Glendale indicates it will ban gun shows

 
This post has been corrected. See note at bottom for details.

The Glendale City Council indicated Tuesday night it will vote to ban gun shows in the city.

Citing several examples of gun violence recently –- including the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut, ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner’s rampage and the Aurora, Colo., theater shooting in 2012 -– the council indicated it will vote next week to approve the ban.

The law would also ban firearms and ammunition from all city property with few exceptions, including for police officers and active military personnel.

“While government at all levels has a substantial interest in protecting the public from firearm-related harm and death, local governments have the predominant obligation to do so,” the City Council agenda reads.

Glendale hosts three gun shows annually, each netting the city between $18,000 and $19,000.

The city hosted a gun show the first weekend of March at the Glendale Civic Center, which is across the street from a community college. A clause in the city’s contract with the gun show operators allows the city to back out of its agreement without reason, according to a city staff report.

Gun manufacturers and sellers already in place in Glendale would not be affected. The city has 37 firearms dealers, including one pawnbroker, two manufacturers, 15 traditional dealers and 19 collectors.

“This gun show being banned on Glendale city property won’t make any difference on anybody’s ability to purchase a gun,” Councilwoman Laura Friedman said at Tuesday’s meeting, according to the Glendale News Press.

Councilman Ara Najarian opposed the law.

“This is a knee-jerk reaction,” he said. “It’s an emotional reaction.”

One gun show operator at Tuesday’s meeting threatened litigation if the ordinance was adopted. The council will vote for final approval March 19.

[For the record, March 12, 2:06 p.m.: A previous version of this post and headline stated the council had voted to ban gun shows. A vote will be held next week, but a majority of council members expressed strong support Tuesday night for the ban.]

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Hundreds in Sacramento protest proposed gun restrictions

Hundreds rallied in front of the Capitol in Sacramento on Saturday to protest efforts to restrict gun ownership in California and across the country.

The protest was one of dozens held at state capitals nationwide as politicians push new gun laws in the wake of the mass killing in Newton, Conn., in December.

“They keep adding more and more laws,” said Wes Holst, who hosts a radio show about guns in Santa Cruz. “More laws don’t prevent crime.”

Some people waved flags or hoisted signs saying “hands off my guns” and “gun laws don’t stop criminals bullets do,” and many spoke fearfully of restrictions they say would leave them defenseless against criminals or even a government they view with suspicion.

California has some of the toughest gun laws in the country, and there were no firearms to be seen at Saturday’s rally. A few people wore empty holsters.

Daniel Silverman, an information technology consultant who lives in Tracy, said he organized the Sacramento event as part of a grassroots campaign called Guns Across America. He said the rally was not connected to Gun Appreciation Day, which was started by a Republican consulting firm based in Washington. 

He said politicians have unfairly singled out firearms as the cause of violence. A gun, he said, is only “a piece of plastic, aluminum and steel that does no harm in the hands of good men and women.”

Christina Marotti, 33, of East Sacramento brought her two daughters, ages 2 and 4, to the rally. One had a sign saying “my mom loves guns” and the other had a sign saying “arm my teacher.”

“Wherever you take away the right to have guns, the crime rate increases,” she said. “As a mother, that scares me.”

In schools, she said, “our kids are open game.”

Several protesters and speakers said guns were a key part of their personal freedom.

“We’re not fighting for our right to be sportsmen,” said Jonathan Zachariou, a pastor in Davis. Guns, he said, are the “best way to suppress tyranny.”

Firearms advocates picket L.A. gun buyback

A handful of gun enthusiasts and gun collectors picketed the Van Nuys gun buyback event for most of Wednesday with signs reading "Criminals Love Gun Free Zones" and "Free People Ought to Be Armed."
 
Some picketers used traffic cones to amplify their voices and called the buyback a fraud. They urged those waiting in line to keep their guns.
 
"They're using our tax money to take our guns," cried Bruce Boyer of the Sons of Liberty - L.A., a local gun rights group.
 
"These officers take their guns home at night," he added. "Why shouldn't you?"

After alleged 'Dark Knight' threats in theater, man due in court

A man who asked for a gun and referenced the Colorado shootings while inside a Norwalk theater during a showing of the "The Dark Knight Rises" is expected to appear in court Tuesday morning.

Clark Tabor is accused of grabbing his cellphone Sunday evening inside an AMC Norwalk 20 and shouting: "Does anyone have a gun?" and "I should go off like in Colorado," the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

He was arrested Monday at about 5:45 p.m. on suspicion of making criminal threats and was being held in L.A. County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail and unrelated warrants. He was expected to appear at the Bellflower Courthouse.

The alleged threats came just days after the mass shooting in Aurora, Colo., that left 12 dead and 58 injured.

L.A. County sheriff's deputies arrested Tabor after a theater security guard saw him on his knees near  a backpack in the second row, according to authorities.

"Witnesses said they were afraid the suspect was going to remove a gun from his backpack and shoot them," the sheriff's officials said in the statement.

Sheriff's Lt. Mike Parker said authorities were initially alerted by someone who saw something suspicious inside the theater.

"This is exactly the kind of help law enforcement needs to protect the public," Parker told The Times.

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Colorado shooting: Suspect's ties to sex website, Match.com examined

As officials look closer into the past of the suspect in the Colorado theater shooting, two websites have become the focus of some attention.

James Holmes appears to have been active on the Match.com dating site, and authorities are looking into whether he had a profile on a sex website.

James Holmes called himself "Classic_Jim" in his match.com profile, saying he was a 24-year-old from Aurora, Colo., looking for "girls who like guys." The pictures posted on his account show a man with shocking red-orange hair and long sideburns.

PHOTOS: Suspected Colorado gunman's California ties

The website has since removed the account.

"When we were informed that there was a profile for James Holmes, we immediately removed it from the system," a spokeswoman for the website said in statement Monday. “Anyone on Match.com who has a concern about another member should use the 'report a concern' function to alert us to the issue so we can take appropriate action."  

The existence of the account was first reported by TMZ.com.

WHO THEY WERE: Aurora theater shooting victims

In the profile, he described himself as an agnostic student who earned less than $25,000 a year. He described his politics as "middle of the road."

Man held after threats made at 'Dark Knight' showing in Norwalk

A 52-year-old man was arrested at a Norwalk theater showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" after he allegedly shouted threats about a gun and Colorado, authorities said Monday evening.

Clark Tabor is accused of grabbing his cellphone Sunday evening inside the AMC Norwalk 20 and shouting: "Does anyone have a gun?" and "I should go off like in Colorado," the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

Deputies arrested Tabor after a theater security guard saw Tabor with a backpack on his knees in the second row, according to authorities.

PHOTOS: Suspected Colorado gunman's California ties

"Witnesses said they were afraid the suspect was going to remove a gun from his backpack and shoot them," the Sheriff's Department said.

Lt. Mike Parker said authorities were initially alerted by someone who saw something suspicious inside the theater.

"This is exactly the kind of help law enforcement needs to protect the public," Parker told The Times.

Tabor was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats. He was being held Monday evening in County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail and unrelated warrants.

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Colorado shooting suspect was active on Match.com

The suspect in the Aurora, Colo., theater shooting appears to have signed up for the dating website Match.com.

James Holmes called himself "Classic_Jim" in his match.com profile, saying he was a 24-year-old from Aurora looking for "girls who like guys." The pictures posted on his account show a man with shocking red-orange hair and long sideburns, the spitting image of Holmes as he appeared in a Colorado courtroom Monday.

The website has since removed the account.

PHOTOS: Suspected Colorado gunman's California ties

"When we were informed that there was a profile for James Holmes, we immediately removed it from the system," a spokeswoman for the website said in statement Monday. “Anyone on Match.com who has a concern about another member should use the 'report a concern' function to alert us to the issue so we can take appropriate action."  

The existence of the account was first reported by TMZ.com.

In the profile, he described himself as an agnostic student who earned less than $25,000 a year. He described his politics as "middle of the road."

WHO THEY WERE: Aurora theater shooting victims

Meanwhile, law enforcement authorities are investigating a sex website, Adult Friend Finder, that had an account by a person who resembled Holmes.

Suspected Colorado gunman's family stands by son, attorney says

The attorney for the family of suspected Colorado gunman James Holmes said Monday his family continues to stand by him.

"Yes, they do, he's their son," Lisa Damiani said in response to reporters' questions about whether they support the 24-year-old suspect, who appeared in a Colorado courtroom Monday looking dazed.

Holmes is a suspect in the shooting rampage that killed 12 and injured 58 inside an Aurora, Colo., movie theater.

PHOTOS: Suspected Colorado gunman's California ties

Damiani also clarified a statement made by Holmes' mother, Arlene Holmes, to ABC News just after the mass shooting.

"She said, ‘Yes, I am Arlene Holmes and yes I have a son,” Damiani said, adding that Arlene Holmes did not say she wasn't surprised that Holmes had been involved in the mass shooting.

Damiani said she could not comment on James Holmes or the relationship between him and his family, which resides in San Diego.

WHO THEY WERE: Aurora theater shooting victims

“I’m not going to comment on how they are feeling,” Damiani said.

She said later that the family would like their privacy respected.

Authorities in Colorado shooting investigate sex website

Law enforcement authorities are investigating a sex website, Adult Friend Finder, which had an account of a person who resembled Colorado movie-theater shooting suspect James E. Holmes.

The person with the account had dyed red hair and long sideburns -- like Holmes -- and claimed to live in the same town as the suspect, Aurora, Colo. A spokeswoman for the website declined to say whether the account belonged to Holmes.

"AdultFriendFinder.com values the privacy of its members and subscribers and does not disclose or confirm the status of any individuals on our website. AdultFriendFinder.com does respond to law enforcement inquiries as may be required by law," Lindsay Trivento, director of corporate communications for FriendFinder Networks Inc. in Boca Raton, Fla., said in a statement Monday morning.

PHOTOS: Suspected Colorado gunman's California ties

The account holder called himself "classicjimbo." He described himself as straight, single and looking for women, couples and groups interested in "erotic chat" or a discreet relationship. The profile included three pictures of the account holder, which looked extremely similar to Holmes when he appeared in court on Monday morning. In one, an image of the red-haired man appeared to have been pasted electronically next to a picture of a woman.

Portrait of Colorado shooting suspect emerges -- A Times/Google+ live hangout

The Times will host a Google+ chat at 11 a.m. on the Colorado shooting and suspect James Holmes.

Holmes made his first court appearance Monday, his hair dyed reddish-orange in an apparent nod to the comic book world of Batman.

Times reporters Phil Willon and Matt Stevens will discuss what they've learned about Holmes' background.

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We invite you to join in on the conversation by posting comments below or onto The Times’ Facebook and Google Plus pages or on Twitter using the #asklatimes hashtag.

Many friends of Holmes in California said he was a gifted student and an intelligent person -- but others said he was more complicated. 

Arash Adami, a UC Riverside student studying for his doctorate, was James Holmes' teaching assistant for a neuroscience class in 2009. The class focused on the nervous system’s importance to controlling other systems in the human body. Adami said nothing really stood out about James except for his intellect.

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"He was one of the smartest kids in the class," Adami said. "I wasn't in his inner circle or anything, so it's tough for me to say any more about him."