1,200 Sign Petition Against Dedham Gun Shop Opening By Playground

DEDHAM, MA — A proposal to open a gun shop next month on Bussey Street has met with objections from hundreds of town residents, who worry about the store's proximity to a playground. Dedham has no zoning laws that would preclude gun stores, so residents started a petition asking the owner of the property to "cease any action" that would allow J&J Arms to occupy the space. The petition has garnered more than 1,200 signatures.

Petition author Anne Kijas said residents also worry that the store is less than a mile away from Avery Elementary, Dedham Middle and Dedham High schools.

"It is unconscionable, in an era where our children are forced to practice lockdown drills designed to train them how to protect themselves from armed intruders, to locate a gun shop anywhere in the vicinity of schools," the petition read. "The fear of armed intruders permeates their education, and placing a shop that sells guns and/or ammunition within immediate distance of schools is confusing to students at best, and sparks fears of access to them at school at worst."

Records for the Zoning Board of Appeals list JM Reality, of Hyde Park, as the property owner. The property manager could not be reached immediately for comment.

The proposed store opening comes at a time when lawmakers in Washington and several states are considering stricter gun-control measures after the weekend's mass shootings left 31 dead in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.

Cruz's attorney Andrew Couture told Patch that the store conforms to all federal and state regulations and that his client's business is "a lot more than just a store." He said Cruz intends to teach firearm safety courses.

The Planning Board had scheduled a meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday to discuss adopting new regulations. The Design Review Board also has a meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, where store owner Joshua Cruz will seek approval for a store sign. Residents told Patch they objected to the sign because it depicts pictures of guns.

Town Planner Jeremy Rosenberger said the Supreme Court has already ruled that cities and towns cannot regulate the content of signs because it would violate the First Amendment, but that the review board can regulate the sign's height and the size of its images and lettering.

Residents were also outraged over two Instagram posts on the store's account. One depicted an older woman wearing lingerie telling a boy, "See that wasn't so bad was it? Now, let's go get that H&K P7 you wanted." The picture was taken down, and Cruz apologized and said it was in "extremely poor taste." He said the point was to show that this is the wrong way to buy guns, rather than at a legal store. The other picture is still up and shows a gun painted in Easter colors on the ground among Easter eggs.

"Stay legal stay safe?" one commenter wrote. "Is that really your hashtag? With a photo of a gun alongside eggs left for kids to find on Easter? Wtf."