Dear Mayor Vera, Vice Mayor McMorrin, Council Members Eriksson, O’Brien, and Puza, and City Staff:

Since June of 2022, community members and parents from all over Culver City have organized around the issue of gun safety in our city, under the name Culver 878.

We have seen too many times the devastating impact gun violence has had on communities just like ours – shootings are now the number one cause of death of children in this country and many of us send ours to school every morning with the knowledge we may never see them alive again. That knowledge is what guides our movement and what has inspired this letter today.

In 2005, the city rightfully identified the risks associated with the proximity of gun sellers to sensitive receptors and enacted a distance ordinance that mandates all such businesses must operate outside of 1,000 feet of primary and secondary schools, parks, and playgrounds. There should be no debate over whether it’s dangerous for a gun store to operate within 1,000 feet of a school, because our law already says it is. Grandfathered rights do not somehow magically make sensitive receptors any less sensitive, nor do they make guns any less deadly.

Therefore, we demand that the city urgently explore all possible options and use all resources available to end the non-conforming use of the land parcel at 11029 Washington Boulevard – where Martin B. Retting is planning to close business later this month, and implement a policy to phase out all dangerous, non-conforming businesses.

We also demand that the city impose a moratorium immediately on transfers that allow these non-conforming businesses to continue in our neighborhoods while it develops this policy.

We will be reaching out to each of you individually to request meetings and we will continue to organize and speak up until gun stores and the possibility of new ones have been completely eliminated from our school zones.

If Culver City allows another gun business to open at 11029 Washington Boulevard, it will have failed its children and the entire community.

Sincerely, Culver 878 + Community

The letter was signed by more than 300 members of the Culver City Community, which are viewable to those it addresses.

Image Provided by Culver City 878, a project by local parents, students and organizers to advocate for gun-safety measures in Culver City.