Here’s what pawn shop owners have to say on gun control debate, mental health issues

Feb. 27--MANATEE -- Jason Merritt and John Townsend buy and sell guns at their pawn shops.

Both are firm supporters of the Second Amendment and the constitutional right to bear arms.

And both are open to finding better ways to protect children from the kind of slaughter that took 17 lives on Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

"I believe we have to pull in from both sides," Merritt said of the rancorous debate on the political extremes and what is needed to move the discussion ahead constructively.

"We need some great leaders and we need to have checks and balances in place," said Merritt, owner of Manatee Pawn, Inc., 515 27th St. E., Suite 8, in Bradenton.

Merritt points to the failure of background checks that allowed Nikolas Cruz, a 19-year-old with mental health issues, to buy firearms, and of a lack of action by law enforcement, including the FBI, to act on numerous red flags over a period of several years.

Gun sales were at the height during the Obama administration, when some felt the Second Amendment was under threat, Merritt said.

"Right before the presidential election, it was crazy. (Donald) Trump was the worst thing for gun sales," Merritt said, citing the bankruptcy of gun manufacturer Remington.

Townsend owns Buccaneer Pawn, 3119 First St. E., and a second store at 1750 N. Washington Blvd., Sarasota.

He believes that an 18-year-old should not be able to buy a firearm, except for a few exceptions. One would be for active-duty military, and another would be for 18-year-olds accompanied by a parent.

"But no gun law is going to stop crazy people from killing people," Townsend said.

Townsend is critical of the current law that allows anyone over the age of 18 to buy a long gun -- a rifle or shotgun -- and walk out of the store with it the same day, while the person who buys a handgun has to wait three days.

"It makes no sense," he said.

The fresh round of gun control debate has prompted more people to inquire about assault rifles, but hasn't resulted in more sales, Townsend said.

"People aren't flocking in," he said.

"Probably 100 million guns are already in circulation. Whatever the law, we want to do whatever we can to enforce the laws and keep guns out of the wrong hands. Some of the things they are talking about are good. Anyone diagnosed with a mental disorder should not be able to buy a gun. Everyone should have a three-day waiting period. It's common sense," Townsend said.

Merritt also said there hasn't been a rush to buy assault rifles, but he has fielded a number of questions about concealed carry permits.

"We get a lot of out-of-state visitors asking about their laws and ours," Merritt said.

The current debate over gun control remains a hot topic nationally, with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies coming under intense criticism, amidst a growing demand for the sheriff of Broward County to resign following reports that several of his deputies failed to enter the school to confront the shooter.

In Bradenton on Tuesday, several demonstrators stood on the corner of Manatee Avenue and U.S. 301 demanding, among other things, an end to assault weapons and "No NRA blood money."

Ken Smith, a gunsmith machinist with S3 Custom LLC, 8283 81st Court E., said lawmakers and activists need to "slow down" in their quest to rewrite gun laws.

"Laws like this don't need to be made when emotions are running high," Smith said.

Of all the ideas that have been batted around, Smith likes the ones that address mental health.

"At the end of the day, there is evil in the hearts of some men, and we can't change that," Smith said, citing the example of Timothy McVeigh, who in 1995 killed 168 people and injured more than 690 others using a truck loaded with a fertilizer bomb at a federal building in Oklahoma City.

Daryl Brown, owner of ASAP Gun & Pawn, 3717 U.S. 301 N., Ellenton, argues there is no way to legislate evil.

"It's already illegal to shoot at an innocent person," Brown said.

But he agrees that a mentally ill person should not have a gun in their possession.

"There is discussion about background checks. Any system is only as good as the information coming into it," Brown said.

"We need to look at where our families are and how we are teaching our children," he said.

James A. Jones Jr.: 941-745-7053, @jajones1

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