My exchange with the Mayor of Mebane

"Dear Mr. Mayor,

Thanks for your response. If you don’t want the rest of us to associate this store and its guns with Mebane, you might want to take up the matter with the Postal Service. From your response, however, it would appear that you delighted to have them nearby and just wish they were closer so that you could collect sales tax.

Lots of things are legal and bad ideas at the same time. Thoughtful politicians recognize this; courageous ones say so.

Have a good weekend,

Terry

From: Glendel Stephenson [mailto:stephenson@mebtel.net]
Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2012 10:37 PM
To: 'Terry MAGUIRE'
Cc: rwilson@cityofmebane.com; cbateman@cityofmebane.com
Subject: RE: Mace Sports

Good Evening, Terry:

1.  I am sorry you were so distraught over a newspaper ad.

2.  Mace Sports is not a Mebane business resident.

3.  Mace Sports is located outside Mebane, in Orange County, is a legal business, and has, apparently, been issued proper permits for the operation of a business of this type.  They simply have a Mebane postal address as do dozens of other businesses located outside our city limits.  Their taxes are paid to Orange County, not to the City of Mebane.

4.  It is not the business of The City of Mebane to dictate what Orange County may or may not allow within its borders, or to dictate what businesses permitted by The State of North Carolina must sell, display, or advertise.

5.  The City of Mebane is a fine place in which to live, work, raise a family and enjoy life.

6.  The City of Mebane is a growing community of 12,000 people, supported by an excellent City Administration and Staff, well financed, and providing many services needed and requested by our citizens.

7.  We have a fine City Council that is constantly alert to protect and maintain the liveability of our citizens.

8.  If you have not had the opportunity to visit and learn more about Mebane, we invite you to do so.

    Glendel Stephenson, Mayor, City of Mebane

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From: Terry MAGUIRE [mailto:tmaguire@newspaper.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2012 12:59 PM
To: gstephenson@cityofmebane.com
Subject: Mace Sports

Dear Mr. Mayor,

I live in Chapel Hill and have for 13 years.

No doubt there are some places here, or nearer than Mebane, that sell firearms. Dick’s Sporting Goods and Walmart, come to mind as I think one or both sell guns at their stores in Durham, just across the county line.

But when I saw the full page ad for a store that purports to be in Mebane – Mace Sports – today in the Herald-Sun, I was both extremely angry and disappointed to see what that ad contained. If you have not seen it, you should ask your staff to get you a copy.

Never have I been as sorry to recognize how freely available are these awful weapons of human destruction as I was when I looked at the full page of guns and rifles promoted by Mace.

So this is – for today – just the statement of one citizen in saying that any thought we’ve had of visiting Mebane, and shopping there, is now crossed off the list. I surely do not want to contribute a dime to any community that apparently supports an establishment selling the kinds of instruments of death that I see in that advertisement.

As we look at other communities in the area, I am relieved now to know that we will not have to explore Mebane as a future place to live. I am grateful for only one thing in connection with the advertisement – it informs us that Mebane is not a place where I would shop, and least of all, live.

Whether I share this and related thinking with others and urge them to express their views to you and others in Mebane remains an open question.

In the meantime, I could not live with myself without expressing my horror to the community’s top elected official.

Regards,

Terry MAGUIRE"